Posted on Jul 25, 2017
Is the awarding of the Meritorious Service Medal being watered down due to lack of standardization across the services?
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I recently attended an Air Force Boot Camp Graduation and I saw an Air Force SSgt (E-5) and an Army SSgt (E-6) each wearing an Meritorious Service Medal (Both with less than 12 years service). Now I know there are some difference between branches of service, but this was very surprising considering in the Marine Corps there is a very high standard required to receive the award. Opinions please.
Posted in these groups: 
Awards
Leadership
Awards Leadership
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 372
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What you saw regarding the Airman is out of the ordinary. It is almost impossible for anyone below E-7 to get an MSM in the Air Force. Even awarding it to a retiring TSgt isn't very common. There are plenty of junior MSgts in the Air Force without one.
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Retired Air Force they did not give me anything would not want them to break their arm or anything
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I retired Air Force with 28 years did not get a damn thing
and I did not want anything
and I did not want anything
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In the Army (years ago) a successful company command could earn an MSM. However with the wars going on, if an E2 earned an MSM, then he/she darn well better get it.
In the Air Force, I believe the standard for an MSM is 5+ days in a barracks w/o carpeting and a Keurig.
In the Air Force, I believe the standard for an MSM is 5+ days in a barracks w/o carpeting and a Keurig.
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So glad to see people are getting their award where it isn't based on rank. We all know that being downrange, just about every E-7 & above got a Bronze Star for just being there. Many lower enlisted people do awesome things & get the the awards they rightfully earned. My one unit, we had an E-4 & an E-5 both get a Legion of Merit for the great work they did. Their jobs put them in the position to do that over someone with greater rank. Overall, it is wrong to give awards based solely on rank.
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GySgt John O'Donnell
Wow, LOM for E4/E5. Absolutely unheard of in Marine Corps. The MSM below as stated in my original post is an oddity from my point of view. I totally agree that awards should not be based on rank.
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SSG Ralph Watkins
Both were in the intelligence field. The E-4 did a research study on an important intelligence asset. The E-5 was being threatened with UCMJ b/c he refused to do his intelligence tasking to follow a gut feeling. When the major, earth shattering event happened, he was already on top of things. His gut was right. Nobody the intelligence field had a clue this would unfold like they did.
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Giving the USAF perspective - rule of thumb is MSMs go to E7/Master Sergeants and up, and O4/Majors and up. That said - if someone junior is doing the work, they should be considered. I got my first MSM as an O3/Captain because I served in an O5/Lt Col position for part of my tour (my O5 boss have been relieved for cause). In the same vein, just because someone has the rank does not mean they should get the higher award - especially if they served in a position not commensurate with their rank. But I will say that my opinion on this issue is not universal among my peers.
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Ever wonder why awards go up with rank but accountability under the UCMJ goes down?
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I watched two E-4's in Afghanistan get the DMSM. Both were on the CG's staff (LTG Eikenberry), one was his IT aid, and the other was administration. They also both received JCOM's as an impact award mid-tour. Never left the HQ area.
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Awards should be made based on performance and rank should not be a factor. However in practice unfortunately that is not always the case and criteria varies not only by service but by command. I really do not see any actual possibility of achieving any sort of standardization in the real word.
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