ACDA Meritorious Honor Award

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ACDA Meritorious Honor Award

US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Meritorious Honor Award medal.png

ACDA Meritorious Honor Award medal
Awarded by Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Type Medal
Eligibility Foreign Service, Civil Service, US Military
Awarded for "A special act or service or sustained outstanding performance"
Status Obsolete
Precedence
Next (higher) ACDA Superior Honor Award
Next (lower) Expeditionary Service Award
ACDA MHA ribbon.jpg
Ribbon

The Meritorious Honor Award is an award of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, an independent agency charged with implementing and verifying arms control strategies which has since been merged into the Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the former U.S. Information Agency. This award has been replaced with the State Department's Meritorious Honor Award. This award was presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained outstanding performance.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.

Meritorious Honor Award

The Meritorious Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained outstanding performance.

Contents

The award consists of a certificate signed by an assistant secretary, an official of equivalent rank or the ACDA Director.

Criteria

The following criteria were applicable to granting an ACDA Meritorious Honor Award: [1]

Military Use

Upon authorization, members of the U.S. military may wear the medal and ribbon in the appropriate order of precedence as a U.S. non-military personal decoration.

Awards and decorations of the United States government are civilian awards of the U.S. federal government which are typically issued for sustained meritorious service, in a civilian capacity, while serving in the U.S. federal government. Certain U.S. government awards may also be issued to military personnel of the United States Armed Forces and be worn in conjunction with awards and decorations of the United States military. In order of precedence, those U.S. non-military awards and decorations authorized for wear are worn after U.S. military personal decorations and unit awards and before U.S. military campaign and service awards.

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The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or service in combat or non-combat, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps award units the Navy MUC for valorous or meritorious achievement or service in combat or non-combat, and the U.S. Coast Guard awards units the Coast Guard MUC for valorous or meritorious achievement or service not involving combat.

Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces Military awards and decorations given to personnel and units of the United States armed forces

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Distinguished Honor Award

The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of exceptionally outstanding service or achievements of marked national or international significance.

Superior Honor Award

The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and USAID. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.

USAID Meritorious Honor Award

The Meritorious Honor Award is an award of the United States Agency for International Development. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and Department of State. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained outstanding performance.

USAID Superior Honor Award

The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Agency for International Development. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and Department of State. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.

ACDA Superior Honor Award

The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, an independent agency charged with implementing and verifying arms control strategies which has since been merged into the Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the former U.S. Information Agency. This award has been replaced with the State Department's Superior Honor Award. This award was presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.

ACDA Distinguished Honor Award

The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, an independent agency charged with implementing and verifying arms control strategies which has since been merged into the Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the former U.S. Information Agency. This award has been replaced with the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award. This award was presented to groups or individuals in recognition of exceptionally outstanding service or achievements of marked national or international significance.

USAID Distinguished Honor Award

The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Agency for International Development. Similar versions of the same award exist for the former U.S. Information Agency, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and Department of State. It is presented to groups or individuals in recognition of exceptionally outstanding service or achievements of marked national or international significance.

USIA Meritorious Honor Award

The Meritorious Honor Award is an award of the United States Information Agency, an independent agency charged with public diplomacy which has since been merged into the Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the former Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. This award has been replaced with the State Department's Meritorious Honor Award. This award was presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained outstanding performance.

USIA Superior Honor Award

The Superior Honor Award is an award of the United States Information Agency, an independent agency charged with public diplomacy which has since been merged into the Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the former Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. This award has been replaced with the State Department's Superior Honor Award. This award was presented to groups or individuals in recognition of a special act or service or sustained extraordinary performance covering a period of one year or longer.

USIA Distinguished Honor Award

The Distinguished Honor Award is an award of the United States Information Agency, an independent agency charged with public diplomacy which has since been merged into the Department of State. Similar versions of the same award exist for the United States Agency for International Development, the Department of State, and the former Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. This award has been replaced with the State Department's Distinguished Honor Award. This award was presented to groups or individuals in recognition of exceptionally outstanding service or achievements of marked national or international significance.

Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. is a former senior U.S. diplomat. Graham was involved in the negotiation of every single international arms control and non-proliferation agreement from 1970 to 1997. This includes the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties, the Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) Treaty, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) Treaty, Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT), Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). In 1993, Ambassador Graham served as Acting Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) from January to November, 1993 and Acting Deputy Director from November, 1993 to July, 1994. From 1994 through 1997, he was president Bill Clinton's special representative for Arms Control, Non-Proliferation, and Disarmament. Graham successfully led the U.S. government efforts to achieve the permanent extension of the NPT in 1995. Graham also served for 15 years as the general counsel of ACDA. Throughout his career, Thomas Graham has worked with six U.S. Presidents including Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Ambassador Graham worked on the negotiation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention and managed the Senate approval of the ratification of the Geneva Protocol banning the use of chemical and biological weapons in war, as well as the Biological Weapons Convention.

References

  1. "3 FAM 4828 Meritorious Honor Award". US Department of State. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 12 Jan 2016.

See also

The United States Department of State, like other agencies of the U.S. federal government, gives civilian decorations for outstanding service, sacrifice, or heroism. The criteria for the awards are set down in 3 FAM 4820 - Foreign Affairs Manual, 3 FAM - Personnel, section 3 FAM 4800 Department Awards Program.

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an independent agency of the United States government that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifying effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies, and agreements."