Defense Superior Service Medal
E109207
The Defense Superior Service Medal is a high-level United States military decoration awarded for superior meritorious service in a position of significant responsibility, typically in joint or defense-wide assignments.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Defense Superior Service Medal canonical | 45 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States military award
ⓘ
military decoration ⓘ |
| awardedFor |
defense-wide assignments
ⓘ
joint duty service ⓘ service in a position of significant responsibility ⓘ superior meritorious service ⓘ |
| awardingAuthority |
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
ⓘ
United States Secretary of Defense ⓘ
surface form:
Secretary of Defense
Combatant Commanders ⓘ
surface form:
Unified Combatant Commanders
directors of defense agencies ⓘ other designated Department of Defense officials ⓘ |
| campaign | non-combat award ⓘ |
| comparativeRank | roughly equivalent to Legion of Merit in precedence within DoD joint awards ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dateEstablished | 1976-02-06 ⓘ |
| eligibility |
enlisted personnel
ⓘ
members of the United States Armed Forces ⓘ officers ⓘ |
| establishedBy |
Executive Order 11904
ⓘ
Gerald Ford ⓘ
surface form:
President Gerald R. Ford
|
| firstAwarded | 1976 ⓘ |
| higherAward | Defense Distinguished Service Medal ⓘ |
| intendedRecipients |
flag officers
ⓘ
general officers ⓘ senior enlisted leaders in joint positions ⓘ senior officers ⓘ |
| lowerAward | Legion of Merit ⓘ |
| obverseDesign |
American bald eagle with outstretched wings
ⓘ
laurel wreath ⓘ shield of the United States ⓘ |
| postNominals | DSSM ⓘ |
| presenter |
Department of Defense
ⓘ
surface form:
United States Department of Defense
|
| reverseDesign |
inscription "FOR SUPERIOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE"
ⓘ
space for date of award ⓘ space for recipient name ⓘ |
| ribbonColor | purple and white ⓘ |
| serviceBranch |
United States Air Force
ⓘ
United States Army ⓘ United States Coast Guard ⓘ United States Marine Corps ⓘ United States Navy ⓘ United States Space Force ⓘ |
| serviceContext |
Department of Defense-level assignments
ⓘ
joint service ⓘ |
| shape | medal suspended from a ribbon ⓘ |
| status | currently awarded ⓘ |
| type | decoration ⓘ |
| wearPrecedence |
worn after Defense Distinguished Service Medal
ⓘ
worn before Legion of Merit ⓘ |
Referenced by (45)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Lisa M. Franchetti
subject surface form:
John W. Raymond
subject surface form:
C. Robert Kehler
subject surface form:
Kevin P. Chilton
subject surface form:
Timothy D. Haugh
subject surface form:
William H. McRaven
subject surface form:
Stanley A. McChrystal
subject surface form:
Joseph F. Dunford Jr.