| Transportation Distinguished Service Medal | |
|---|---|
 Transportation Distinguished Service Medal | |
| Awarded by Department of Transportation | |
| Type | Medal |
| Eligibility | Members of the United States Coast Guard |
| Status | Replaced by Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal in 2003 |
| Statistics | |
| Established | Executive Order 12824, December 7, 1992, (amended by Executive Order 13286, February 28, 2003, Executive Order 13569, April 5, 2011). |
| Order of Wear | |
| Next (higher) | Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal [1] |
| Next (lower) | Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal [2] |
 Transportation Distinguished Service Medal ribbon | |
The Transportation Distinguished Service Medal was the highest decoration which could be bestowed by the Secretary of Transportation for exceptional service to the United States government in a position of great responsibility to a member of the United States Coast Guard. [2] In 2003 it was replaced by the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal.
The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation, a member of the president's Cabinet, and fourteenth in the presidential Line of Succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Transportation on October 15, 1966, by President Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the Department of Transportation Act. The department's mission is "to develop and coordinate policies that will provide an efficient and economical national transportation system, with due regard for need, the environment, and the national defense." The secretary of transportation oversees eleven agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In April 2008, Mary Peters launched the official blog of the secretary of transportation called "The Fast Lane".
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the coastal defense and maritime law enforcement branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's seven uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the U.S. military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the U.S. Department of the Navy by the U.S. President at any time, or by the U.S. Congress during times of war. This has happened twice: in 1917, during World War I, and in 1941, during World War II.
The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States by the United States Department of Homeland Security. The current version of the medal was established in February 2003, retroactive to March 1, 2002.
The Department of Transportation Distinguished Service Medal was established by Executive Order 12824 signed by President George H. W. Bush on December 7, 1992. The decoration was awarded to any member of the Coast Guard who provided exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility while assigned in the Department of Transportation, or in other activities under the responsibility of the Secretary of Transportation, either national or international, as may be assigned by the Secretary.
George Herbert Walker Bush was an American politician and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, Bush also served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and as Director of Central Intelligence. Until his son George W. Bush became the 43rd president in 2001, he was usually known as George Bush.
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the U.S. government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967. It is governed by the United States Secretary of Transportation.
With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 and transfer of the Coast Guard to it, the award was changed to become the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal, issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security. [3]
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a cabinet department of the U.S. federal government with responsibilities in public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management. It was created in November 2002 in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and is the youngest U.S. cabinet department.
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the U.S. and the safety of U.S. citizens. The secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11, 2001. The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as the Coast Guard, the Federal Protective Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It did not include either the Federal Bureau of Investigation or, the Central Intelligence Agency.
