Air Medal | |
---|---|
Type | Military medal (Decoration) |
Awarded for | Heroic or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight |
Presented by | United States Department of the Army [1] United States Department of the Navy [2] United States Department of the Air Force [3] United States Department of Homeland Security [4] |
Status | Currently awarded |
Established | Executive Order 9158, May 11, 1942 (as amended by E.O. 9242-A, September 11, 1942) |
| |
Precedence | |
Next (higher) | Meritorious Service Medal |
Next (lower) | Army, Naval Service, and Coast Guard: Joint Service Commendation Medal Air and Space Forces: Aerial Achievement Medal |
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. [5]
The Air Medal was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 11, 1942. It was awarded retroactive to September 8, 1939, to anyone who distinguishes himself by meritorious achievement while serving with the Armed Forces in aerial flight. [5] [6] [7]
The original award criteria set by an Army Policy Letter dated September 25, 1942, were for one award of the Air Medal: [8]
These criteria were altered by the commanding generals of each numbered Air Force to fit the conditions of their theater of operations and to maintain morale. The Distinguished Flying Cross would usually be awarded for roughly twice to five times the requirements of the Air Medal. This led to automatic "score card" awards of the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross for completing a set number of operational missions rather than distinguished service, meritorious action, or bravery, as had been intended. On August 5, 1943, such score card awards were officially abolished by a Headquarters Army Air Forces Awards Board memorandum due to the embarrassment when airmen received the Air Medal for "score carding" five missions or more but were later removed from flying duties for "lack of moral fibre". Commanders could still issue the awards on those grounds, but the recipient must perform exceptional or meritorious service as well.
During World War II, the medal's award criteria varied widely depending on the theater of operations, the aircraft flown, and the missions accomplished. In Europe, the airspace was considered completely controlled by the enemy and heavy air defenses were encountered, so the criteria were altered from those of the original medal. Bomber, photographic reconnaissance, or observation crewmembers and air transport pilots received it for five sorties, fighter pilots received it for ten sorties, and individual pilots or air crewmen received one award per enemy aircraft shot down. Elsewhere in the Pacific and the China Burma India Theater, the pilots and crews flew mostly over uncontrolled or contested airspace for long hours and lighter air defenses were encountered, so much higher criteria were used. Anti-submarine patrols from the United States could qualify for the medal if an airman logged 200 hours of flight time. [9]
The Air Medal may be awarded to recognize either single acts of merit or gallantry in combat or for meritorious service in a combat zone. Award of the Air Medal is primarily intended to recognize those personnel who are on current crew member or non-crew member flying status which requires them to participate in aerial flight on a regular and frequent basis in the performance of their primary duties. However, it may also be awarded to certain other individuals whose combat duties require regular and frequent flying in other than a passenger status, or individuals who perform a particularly noteworthy act while performing the function of a crew member but who are not on flying status. These individuals must make a discernible contribution to the operational land combat mission or to the mission of the aircraft in flight. [10]
Examples of personnel whose combat duties require them to fly include those in the attack elements of units involved in air-land assaults against an armed enemy and those directly involved in airborne command and control of combat operations. Examples would be transport performing supporting "Dustoff" Medevac or resupply operations, or aircraft involved in reconnaissance over hostile airspace. Awards will not be made to individuals who use air transportation solely for the purpose of moving from point to point in a combat zone.
The Army may award the Air Medal for peacetime service, but approval authority is by general-grade officers at the group or brigade level or higher. The Air Force does not award the Air Medal for peacetime sustained operational activities and flights. Non-combat meritorious service is instead awarded the Aerial Achievement Medal, instituted in 1988.
The United States Air Force does not utilize numeral devices on the Air Medal. Subsequent awards are annotated with the traditional oak leaf clusters (or OLCs). Enlisted members are also awarded three points toward promotion per award.
Each ribbon carries a maximum of four OLCs; the ribbon signifies the first award, a bronze OLC equals one additional award, and a silver OLC represents five additional awards. If there were more than four OLC devices awarded (like the 10th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th, and 20th awards), extra Air Medal ribbons were issued to wear the extra OLCs (although only one Air Medal was awarded). Multiple Air Medals were usually earned by aircrew with extensive flight time and long meritorious service records, like during World War II or Korea.
The award of the medal is sometimes denoted on a member's gravestone with the abbreviation "AM" followed by an ampersand and the number of oak leaf clusters or "OLC". For example, "AM&5 OLC" means Air Medal and five oak leaf clusters.
The United States Army used the same criteria as the Air Force. Oak leaf clusters were awarded on the Air Medal's ribbon for additional awards – Bronze OLCs for every additional award and Silver OLCs for every five additional awards. Extra ribbons were worn to hold extra OLCs if the recipient had earned more than four OLCs.
One award was credited per every 25 hours of combat assault flights (any flight in which the aircraft was directly involved in combat), 50 hours of combat support flights (Visual Reconnaissance or Resupply), or 100 hours of non-combat service flights (Administrative or VIP flights). Flight hours were calculated in six-minute blocks.
In 1968 numerals replaced the oak leaf clusters to simplify their display.
During the Vietnam War, the US Army awarded the Air Medal to Warrant Officer or Commissioned pilots and enlisted aircrew for actual flight time (awards were also made to infantry troops who flew on combat assault missions). This became a bureaucratic nightmare to correctly log because of the short flight time of typical helicopter flights. Later, an equivalent "flight hours" conversion was created and an award standard was set by individual commands. This eventually was standardized in theater to one award per every 24 "flight hours" logged. [11] A simplified set time was awarded depending on the type of mission, regardless of the actual flight time. [11] Administrative or VIP flights counted for a quarter hour, regular duties (such as Visual Reconnaissance or Resupply) counted for a half hour, and hazardous duties (combat assaults or extractions) counted for one hour. Pilots and aircrew could log over 1,000 "flight hours" a year and earn a 40 or higher numeral on their Air Medal ribbon.
The "score card" system was retained after the war. This was changed on December 11, 2006, to an award for every six months of meritorious service instead of the number of flight hours.
Currently (as per AR 600-8-22 [December 11, 2006]) [12] the medal can be awarded for every six months of meritorious service. The recipient must perform flight-related duties while serving in a combat zone. The number of flight hours logged is no longer a criterion. The soldier must be assigned as air crew with flight status (i.e., as a pilot, navigator, or gunner). Soldiers without flight status can be eligible if they help with an aerial attack during general transport (e.g., as a door gunner), serve as a combat controller (e.g., as a Pathfinder or Forward Air Controller) or the combat commander of an air or land operation at the Group or Brigade level or lower. Soldiers being transported by air as passengers are not eligible for the meritorious service award, but they may be eligible for the gallantry award.
The United States Navy and United States Marine Corps have two types of Air Medal awards: "Individual" for singular meritorious acts and "Strike/Flight" for participation in sustained aerial flight operations.
Officers of Captain (USN) or Colonel (USMC) rank and above are not eligible for award of the Air Medal on a Strike/Flight basis unless the sorties they fly are required in the performance of their regular duties.
In the interval between November 22, 1989, and September 27, 2006, 3⁄16 inch bronze stars, 5⁄16 inch gold stars, and 5⁄16 inch silver stars denoted the number of "Individual" Air Medals. A bronze star was used to denote a first award. Gold stars were used for the second through the fifth awards, seventh through tenth awards, and so on. Silver stars were used in lieu of five gold stars, and denote the sixth and eleventh (and so on) awards. For "Individual" Air Medals, the Combat "V" may be authorized.
Bronze Strike/Flight numerals denoted the number of Strike/Flight awards. They are authorized for operations in hostile or disputed territory and count the total number of Strikes (operations that faced enemy opposition) and Flights (operations that did not encounter enemy opposition) added together.
The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard may award the Air Medal to any person in the Armed Forces of the United States who distinguishes themselves by heroic or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. [13]
The Coast Guard awards the "Individual" Air Medal but not the Strike/Flight Award.
During World War II, the Air Medal was also awarded to members of the Civil Air Patrol who participated in the CAP's anti-submarine patrol program. [14] This was not made public at the time, since the Federal government did not want to admit it was arming civilian aircraft.
The medal's design is prescribed by law.
Description: A Bronze compass rose 111⁄16 inches circumscribing diameter and charged with an eagle volant carrying two lightning flashes in its talons. A fleur-de-lis at the top point holds the suspension ring. The points of the compass rose on the reverse are modeled with the central portion plain for engraving the name of the recipient.
Ribbon: The ribbon is 13⁄8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes:
Components: The following are authorized components of the Air Medal and the applicable specifications for each:
Designer: Walker Hancock. Hancock had competed for the medal design as a civilian, but prior to the award of the competition had been inducted into the army. [5]
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. The exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration.
The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth version existing for acts of joint military service performed under the Department of Defense.
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.
Robert Lee Stewart is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army and a former NASA astronaut.
The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal. The medal is awarded in the name of the Secretary of Defense to members of the Armed Forces who, while serving in a joint activity, distinguish themselves by non-combat outstanding achievement or meritorious service, but not of a degree to warrant award of the Defense Superior Service Medal.
The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher Commendation Medal or the Meritorious Service Medal.
An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a specific set of decorations and awards of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and Department of the Air Force.
The Combat Readiness Medal is an award of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force created in 1964. The original Combat Readiness Medal was an award senior to the Air Force Commendation Medal, and it was awarded for superior and meritorious duty to the United States Air Force. The award criteria for the medal were revised in 1967 and the Combat Readiness Medal adopted the designation as a service medal.
The Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award (ASOUA) is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. It was established in 1954 as the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and was the first independent Air Force decoration created. The Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s.
A "V" device is a metal 1⁄4-inch (6.4 mm) capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes a decoration awarded for combat valor or heroism from the same decoration being awarded for a member's actions under circumstances other than combat.
A Strike/Flight Numeral is a Department of the Navy device that may be awarded for wear on the Air Medal to individuals serving in any capacity in the United States Armed Forces. A Strike/Flight Award is awarded to individuals for meritorious achievement while participating in sustained aerial flight operations, under flight orders. Strike/Flight Numerals are bronze Arabic numerals 5/16 inch in height and are worn to denote the total number of Strike/Flight awards
The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves with outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States.
The United States Armed Forces authorize certain medal and ribbon devices that may be worn if authorized on a defined set of United States military decorations and awards. The devices vary between 3⁄16 inch to 13⁄32 inch in size and are usually attached to suspension and service ribbons of medals and to unit award ribbons. The devices are usually made of brass or metal alloys that appear gold, silver, or bronze in color with either a dull or polished look. The devices may denote additional awards of the same decoration or award, an award for valor or meritorious combat service, participation in a particular campaign, periods of honorable service, specific events, and other special meanings. These are sometimes referred to as award devices, but are most commonly referred to in service regulations and Department of Defense instructions simply as "devices" for awards and decorations.
The Combat Action Medal (CAM) is a decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force to recognize airmen and guardians for active participation in ground or air combat.
Robert Ernest Huyser was a four-star general in the United States Air Force who served as Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Command (DCINCEUR) from 1975 to 1979; and as Commander in Chief, Military Airlift Command (CINCMAC) from 1979 to 1981.
Major General Trulan Arthur Eyre received his USAF regular commission in 1979 as a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He has served in numerous assignments in flying and operations, as well as command positions at squadron, group, and wing levels. He also served as the United States Air Force F-16 European Demonstration pilot and the deputy director of the Air Coordination and Control Element, US Embassy, Baghdad, Iraq. Eyre joined the Colorado Air National Guard in 1988 as a traditional member. He is a command pilot with over 4000 hours in the F-16, A-7, C-21 and T-38 including more than 100 combat hours. Upon retirement he was recognized as the oldest mission ready pilot flying the F-16 in any branch of the United States Military.
Steven E. Foster is a former major general in the United States Air National Guard and mobilization assistant to the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command. Previously assignments include commander of the 115th Fighter Wing of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. He has acquired more than 3,800 hours flying in a Cessna T-37 Tweet, Northrop T-38 Talon, Cessna O-2 Skymaster, Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. As a civilian he pilots a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 for FedEx Express.
Fred F. Castle Jr. is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force Reserve Command.
Melbourne Kimsey is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force who served as director of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex from 1981 to 1983,
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)