Is the awarding of the Meritorious Service Medal being watered down due to lack of standardization across the services?

I agree that there probably have been instances where this award has been "watered down" In my 23 year career I did witness this with both the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal. When I first entered the military it was common to see an enlisted person complete an entire career without receiving one of these awards until the very end of their career. And it wasn't common for "any" enlisted person to receive any personal award higher than a Navy Achievement Medal as an end of tour award. A Letter of Commendation used to be a typical end of your award for anyone E-6 and below. I definitely did witness a significant change over the years, particularly in light of the fact that I had 7 years of broken service in my total career. In my early years I never ever saw a Meritorious Service Medal awarded to any enlisted person "regardless" of what position they held. I have personal experience with this having served on an Admiral's staff.

You gotta be on your way out basically, highly seasoned Marines get this award. Very rare.

It depends Gunny. Typically the chances of a SSG receiving an MSM in a conventional Army unit are slim to none because of the bureaucracy and maybe due to the lack of supporting information to back up the narrative.

However, this is not always the case in other parts of the Army. You can probably take that same SSG in Special Operations and have higher chances to get it approved due to the broader impact that ARSOF Soldiers have in the battlefield or whatever mission you can name.

It boils down to what you have done that made a significant impact and how well this gets captured on the DA Form 638 or your narrative (DMSM). Hope this helps

I have 2 MSMs and 3 Defense MSMs. During my time in the service the Air Force MSM was normally given to field grade officers when they PCSed. Company grade officers normally got the AF Commendation Medal on PCS. (Achievement Medals didn't come along until several years after I was commissioned.) My DMSMs were awarded for achievement, upon PCS, and Retirement. The DMSM for achievement is the only medal I truly value--I worked had on a project and was recognized for it. Awarding MSMs and AFComs for PCS is a tradition in the Air Force. I don't necessarily agree with it because it does tend to make the awards less valuable. In my time in the service, the PCS awards tended to show up after you had arrived at your new unit. They were presented at a Commander's Call or similar event. The citation was read and your new Commander presented the medal. Very nice, but everybody knew they were "we're glad you're gone" awards.

I taught in a joint-service school - the Air Force Senior NCO Academy. The MSM is commonly called the "Master Sergeant's Medal," and _EVERY_ Air Force E-7 and above had at least one - usually three or four. I saw two with SILVER oak leaves on their MSMs. I saw several Army Sergeants Major there with ARCOMs - no MSM. Only a couple Navy Senior Chiefs had one, and NONE of the Coastie Chiefs I saw had one.


Yes. It is being watered down.

I can only speak about what,I have witnessed and seen in my 22 years in The Army. The MSM in my experience has often been awarded to Soldiers retiring, Senior NCOs PCSing on occasion and Field Grade officers at times PCSing. More specifically it was awarded to Senior NCOs and Field Grade officers in the tough or key jobs that were successful in those jobs. Now that has been my experience, I can only speak on what I have observed. I can share that as a BN XO I was awarded an MSM, but that was my second time as a BN XO, my first time as a BN XO I was awarded an ARCOM (Army Commendation Medal).

Awards are all about someone higher than you wanting to receive it. As a BS S4 I was modest and get a MSM during my first deployment. Everyone else got BSMs. I also saw jr enlisted get MSMs in 2005. In my army experance 04s got MSMs, ARCOMS for everyone else.

A bronze star without device is nothing mor than a MSM

It's watered down and cheapened often by some persons in positions of responsibility, who got there simply because of the color of their skin, not for any great service. They then go on to award medals to others persons of the so called minority, who do little to earn them, while ignoring those who do more, but simply aren't the right color. During the mid 90's in the Arizona National Guard this happened so much, that I decided it was time for me to move on.

This is a prime example of the garbage leadership that exists in the military. You think that medals should be based on race or tune in service rather than what people actually accomplish. Hell I'm surprised people don't bitch at medals of valor being given to E-6's and below.