WIXLIB

SECNAVINST 1650.1G5. DoD has personal awards equivalent to Navy. WhenDepartment of the Navy (DON) members serve in a DoD agency,activity, or a joint, unified or specified command,recognition by a DoD award, in lieu of the DON award, isappropriate. The only exception is for DON personnelretiring or transferring to the Fleet Reserve whileattached with another service or joint command; it ispreferred that Navy or Marine Corps award the servicedecoration if recognition is deemed appropriate. Anindividual cannot receive both awards, i.e. DoD, DON and/orother service, for the same act of service.a. Per the Manual of Military Decorations andAwards, DoD 1348.33-M (NOTAL), the Secretary of the Navy(SECNAV) has been designated an "Executive Agent of a Jointfunction" and as such has been delegated authority to awardthe Joint Service Commendation Medal (JC) and the JointService Achievement Medal (JA) to qualifying personnel.b. To simplify matters, recommendations for the JCand JA medals forwarded to SECNAV shall be in the sameformat as DON awards; DON eligibility criteria is the sameas that required of the DoD equivalent. Use OPNAV 1650/3and submit recommendations through your normal chain ofcommand to SECNAV. To qualify for a joint decoration, theindividual must be serving in a valid, verifiable jointduty billet per manpower documentation.6. The fact that a unit receives a unit award in noway limits the awarding of personal decorations toindividuals of that unit for the same period and/orachievements.7. As a general rule, only one award will be made forthe same act, achievement, or period of meritoriousservice. It is inappropriate to duplicate awards, however,an award for heroism or specific achievement within theperiod of meritorious service is not consideredduplication. Neither the summary of action nor thecitation issued for the meritorious service should mentionthe heroic service or the specific achievement previouslyrecognized.8. The Navy does not have a retirement award, nor isit appropriate to recommend an award for the entire careerof a service member. If an individual is recommended for1-3

SECNAVINST 1650.1Gan award upon retirement, it should only recognize serviceat the last duty station or not previously recognized. Inaddition, a retirement/career statement in the citation isalso not appropriate.112. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH AWARDS. Awards may beestablished by laws passed by Congress, by Executive Order,or by directives issued by the Secretary of Defense(SECDEF) and SECNAV. All Navy recommendations for theestablishment of a new award must be addressed via thechain of command to SECNAV and contain full justificationfor the new award, proposed criteria, eligible personneland a design for the award.113.AUTHORITY TO APPROVE AWARDS1. The Medal of Honor is approved and awarded by thePresident in the name of Congress.2. The Defense Distinguished Service Medal and DefenseSuperior Service Medal are approved and awarded by SECDEFin the name of the President.3. The Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, andSilver Star Medal are approved and awarded by SECNAV in thename of the President.4. The Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross,Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Bronze Star Medal, PurpleHeart, and Air Medal (Strike/Flight) are awarded by SECNAVand Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) or Commandant of theMarine Corps (CMC) under delegated authority from SECNAV inthe name of the President.5. The Defense Meritorious Service Medal has beendelegated to numerous DoD activities, refer to DoD1348.33-M (NOTAL) for details.6. The Meritorious Service Medal and Air Medal(Individual for Non-Combat Action) are approved and awardedby several commands (see Appendix B to Chapter 1 regardingCNO/CMC delegation authority) in the name of the President.Note: The Air Medal (Strike/Flight and Individual forCombat Action) can only be approved by delegated authorityafter determination by SECNAV of the area of operations.1-4

SECNAVINST 1650.1G7. The Joint Service Commendation Medal and JointService Achievement Medal may be approved and awarded bySECNAV in the name of SECDEF.8. The Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal andNavy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal are approved andawarded by SECNAV in his own name (see Appendix B toChapter 1 regarding delegation authority).9. Qualifying operations for the Combat Action Ribbonare approved by SECNAV.114. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY. SECNAV has delegatedauthority to approve the Legion of Merit and below incertain situations. Appendix B to Chapter 1 provides alisting of those delegations; delegation of authority notspecified requires direction in writing from SECNAV, CNO,or CMC.115.1.PERSONNEL ELIGIBLEAwards to U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Personnela. The terms "naval service" and "serving in anycapacity with the U.S. Navy," as used in this instructioninclude service in the U.S. Marine Corps, all Reservecomponents, and U.S. Coast Guard, when the Coast Guard orunits thereof operate under the control of Navy.b. Anyone that meets the eligibility criteria foran award may be recommended for it by any commissionedofficer senior to the individual being recommended. If asenior officer is not assigned, the senior enlisted membermay forward documentation for award consideration to thefirst officer in the chain of command for review.c. U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen are eligible forthose awards for which they may qualify.d. Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC)midshipmen are eligible for awards for which they mayqualify when serving on active duty, but not for periodsspent as full-time college students.1-5

SECNAVINST 1650.1Ge. Naval personnel are eligible to receive noncombat awards, Meritorious Service Medal (MM) and below,tendered by other U.S. Armed Forces and the Coast Guard ifpermanently assigned to the other service. Followingconcurrence of the CNO or CMC, naval personnel may receivecombat awards and awards above the MM. Concurrence willnot be granted to accept awards from other U.S. ArmedForces for acts that have already been recognized by a DONaward.2. Awards to Other Service (Army, Air Force, and CoastGuard) Personnela. SECNAV/CNO/CMC are approval authority for navaldecorations for members of other services for all combatawards and any non-combat award above the MM. For noncombat awards, the award authority has been delegated asfollows:(1) MM and below commensurate with thecommander’s designated award authority.(2) Legion of Merit (LM) remains at theCNO/CMC level; concurrence from the other Service Chiefwill be attained prior to approval by CNO/CMC.(3) All combat awards remain strictly underthe authority of the parent service, including the CombatDistinguishing Device and Air Medals for combat service.(4) This delegated authority extends only topersonnel permanently assigned to Navy or Marine Corpsunits; temporary personnel (TAD, TEMDU, etc.) can onlyreceive a recommendation forwarded to their parent servicefor action.b.Limitations(1) Other U.S. Armed Forces personnel areeligible to receive from the DON any of the militarydecorations listed here except the Medal of Honor and theCombat Action Ribbon.(2) Other U.S. Armed Forces personnel will notbe awarded a meritorious naval award unless they areactually attached to a unit of the naval service. When1-6

SECNAVINST 1650.1Gattached to a command of their parent service, armed forcespersonnel who perform meritorious service for the DONshould be recommended to their commanding officer for anArmy, Air Force or Coast Guard award. This does notpreclude the awarding of a naval decoration for single actsof heroism.(3) Naval decorations will not be awarded forservice that has already been recognized by anotherservice.3. Military Awards to U.S. Public Health ServiceOfficersa.Authorization.42 U.S.C. 213(b).b. Policy. Effective 2 August 1990, acommissioned officer of the U.S. Public Health Service(USPHS) assigned or attached for full-time duty to DoD orany of its components are eligible for military awards anddecorations on the same basis as officers of the militaryservices.c. No military ribbon, medal or decoration shallbe awarded to an officer of the USPHS without approval ofthe Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) ordesignee.d. SECNAV is the sole approval authority for navaldecorations to members of the USPHS. Recommendations shallbe forwarded using OPNAV 1650/3 via the chain of command.DoD shall secure HHS concurrence prior to final awardapproval.4.U.S. awards to foreign personnel.See Chapter 6.5.Foreign awards to U.S. personnel.See Chapter 7.6.Military awards to civiliansa. Civilians are not normally awarded militarydecorations. In most cases, non-military decorations areavailable for specific services rendered by civilians andthey are considered more appropriate than militarydecorations. Liaison with the local civilian personneldirector is recommended when considering civilian awards.1-7

SECNAVINST 1650.1Gb. Laws, executive orders and other directivesstate that certain decorations shall be awarded to anyperson, who, while serving in any capacity with the navalservice qualifies for the award. By such criteria, thefollowing are decorations for which civilians couldqualify: Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, SilverStar, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy and Marine CorpsMedal, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal and Navy and MarineCorps Commendation Medal. The Distinguished Service Medalis awarded only with the approval of the President.c. Military awards to civilians are rare; should acase warrant a military award, the recommendation will beforwarded to SECNAV, Navy Department Board of Decorationsand Medals (NDBDM) via CNO or CMC, as appropriate. Amilitary award should only be considered if a civilianaward is clearly not appropriate.d. Policy regulations concerning civilian awardsare SECNAVINST 5061.12C (NOTAL) and MCO 12451.2C (NOTAL).116.REQUIREMENT FOR HONORABLE SERVICE1. Title 10 U.S. Code, Section 6249 provides that nomedal, cross, bar, or associated emblem or insignia may beawarded or presented to any individual if the service afterthe distinguishing act or period has not been honorable.2. Any award for a distinguished act, achievement orservice may be revoked before presentation by the approvalauthority, or after presentation by SECNAV, if facts,subsequently determined, would have prevented the originalapproval of the award, or if the awardee's service afterthe distinguishing act, achievement or service has not beenhonorable.3. If the awardee's honorable service is questionedafter presentation of the award, forward the entire case toNDBDM via CNO/CMC as appropriate for a determination andfinal disposition.117.MISCELLANEOUS LAWS PERTAINING TO AWARDS1. Protection of Awards. Title 18 U.S. Code, Section704 prohibits, and imposes a suitable penalty for the1-8

SECNAVINST 1650.1Gunauthorized wear, manufacture or sale of any decoration,medal or ribbon which has been or may be authorized by theArmed Forces of the United States except under regulationsmade under law.2. Medal of Honor Roll. Applicable provisions of lawrelating to the Medal of Honor Roll are as follows:a.Title 38 U.S. Code, Section 560.Eligibility.(1) There shall be in the Department of theArmy, Department of the Navy, Department of the Air Forceand Department of Transportation, respectively, a rolldesignated as the "Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast GuardMedal of Honor Roll" hereafter referred to as the "Medal ofHonor Roll."(2) Upon written application to the Secretaryconcerned, the Secretary shall enter and record on suchroll the name of each surviving person who has served onactive duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, whohas been awarded a Medal of Honor for conspicuouslydistinguishing himself/herself by gallantry and intrepidityat the risk of his/her life above and beyond the call ofduty while so serving.(3) Applications for entry on such roll shallbe made in the form and under regulations prescribed by theSecretary concerned and shall indicate whether or not theapplicant desires to receive the special pension providedby section 562 of this title. Proper application forms andinstructions shall be furnished by the Secretary concerned,without charge upon the request of any person claimingthese benefits.b.Title 38 U.S. Code, Section 561.Certificate.(1) The Secretary concerned shall determinewhether or not each applicant is entitled to have his orher name entered on the Medal of Honor Roll. If theofficial award of the Medal of Honor to the applicant, orthe official notice to him/her thereof, shows the Medal ofHonor was awarded to the applicant for an act described insection 560 of this title, such award or notice shall besufficient to entitle the applicant to have his/her nameentered on such roll without further investigation;1-9

SECNAVINST 1650.1Gotherwise all official correspondence, orders, reports,recommendations, requests and other evidence on file in anypublic office or department shall be considered.(2) Each person whose name is entered on theMedal of Honor Roll shall be furnished an enrollmentcertificate of service and of the act of heroism,gallantry, bravery, or intrepidity for which the Medal ofHonor was awarded, and if he/she has executed the right toreceive the special pension provided by section 562 of thistitle.(3) The Secretary concerned shall deliver acertified copy of each certificate to the Secretary ofVeteran Affairs issued by him under subsection (b) in whichthe right of the person named in the certificate to thespecial pension provided by section 562 of this title isset forth. Such copy shall authorize the Administrator topay such special pension to the person named in thiscertificate.c. Title 38 U.S. Code, Section 562.pension provision.Special(1) Upon receipt of a copy of the certificatereceived under subsection (c) of section 561, of thistitle, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall pay eachperson whose name has been entered on the Medal of HonorRoll a special pension at the rate of 400 per month,beginning on the date of application therefore undersection 560 of this title.(2) The receipt of special pension shall notdeprive any person of any other pension or other benefit,right or privilege to

Subj: NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS MANUAL 1. Purpose. To provide information and regulations on awards for individuals and units in the Naval Service. 2. Cancellation. SECNAVINSTS 1650.1F and 1650.32 (NOTAL). 3. Points of Contact a. Navy Department Board of Decoration