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.
Edmund Peter Giambastiani Jr. is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the seventh vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2005 to 2007. He retired in 2007, after 37 years of service.
Rear Admiral Robert Dunham Reilly Jr. was a United States Navy Surface Warfare Flag Officer who retired from active duty in January 2010 after 34-plus years of military service. His last assignment was as the 24th commander of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Vice Admiral David Charles Nichols Jr. is a retired senior U.S. Navy officer and Naval Flight Officer. At the time of his retirement in September 2007, he was the Deputy Commander of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM) at MacDill AFB, Florida.
Rear Admiral Jay Allan DeLoach served as the Director of Naval History and Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command and the Curator of the Navy from 2008 to 2012. He was an American submarine officer who played a role in implementing a visionary "Memorandum of Understanding" between the Submarine Force Active component and the Reserve component. He helped pioneer many key initiatives that have since been adopted Navy-wide. DeLoach was the Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements and Assessments.
Mark William Balmert is retired United States Navy rear admiral. His last command was the joint Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Strike Group 3. He retired from the Navy in 2008 and joined Northrop Grumman as a Strategic Senior Consulting Manager.
Garland Porter “Gar” Wright Jr. is a retired Rear Admiral of the United States Navy. His final active duty assignment was as deputy director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He previously served as Commander Joint Task Force 134, and prior to that as Deputy Chief of the Navy Reserve. He is a 1977 graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he was co-captain of Navy's first National Championship Sailing team and named an intercollegiate "All American."
Vice Admiral Nancy E. Brown is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy who most recently served as the Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems, The Joint Staff. She was the principal advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on all C4 systems matters within the Department of Defense. Her service spanned 32 years. She retired in 2009.
Rear Admiral Roberta L. Hazard was the third female line officer to be promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy, and at the time, the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. military. She was the first woman to command a United States Naval Training Command.
Brigadier General Hector E. Pagan is a United States Army officer who is the first Hispanic of Puerto Rican descent to become Deputy Commanding General of the U.S.Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Joseph Metcalf III was a United States Navy vice admiral. He graduated from Vermont Academy in 1946 and then from the Naval Academy in 1951 and retired from active duty in 1987.
Gerald Roger Beaman is a retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy and an ex Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Gail Harris is a former United States Navy officer, and was the highest-ranking female African American in the U.S. Navy upon her retirement in December 2001. She served as the first female intelligence officer in a Navy aviation squadron in 1973. In 1979, Captain Harris became the first female and African American instructor at the Armed Forces Air Intelligence Training Center at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. In 1989, she became the first female and African American to lead the Intelligence Department for Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron in Rota, Spain, the largest Navy aviation squadron.
Richard Wayne Hunt is a United States Navy vice admiral who served as Director - Navy Staff. He retired from active duty in November 2013.
Daniel S. Mastagni is a retired Rear Admiral of the United States Navy Reserve who, from July to September 2003 served as Commander Naval Forces Korea.
Awards and decorations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Sandra Elizabeth Adams is a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Anatolio Benedicto ("A.B.") Cruz III is a retired navy admiral and former senior vice president, Enterprise Shared Services, and general counsel of USAA. He was previously the reserve deputy director, maritime operations (N04R) at U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
Kelly A. Aeschbach is a vice admiral in the United States Navy who currently serves as the commander of U.S. Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR). Before that, she served as Director of the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office and Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence. and prior to that as Deputy Director of Intelligence for United States Forces – Afghanistan.
Peter Gerard Vasely is a United States Navy rear admiral who serves as deputy director for future joint force development of the Joint Staff since June 3, 2022. He served as a special assistant to the Director of the Navy Staff from November 4, 2021 to June 3, 2022. Before that, he served as the Commander of Special Operations Joint Task Force–Afghanistan and NATO Special Operations Component Command–Afghanistan from May 17, 2021 to August 31, 2021. Vasely is a Navy SEAL officer and former member of SEAL Team ONE and Development Group. Previously, he served as the Director of Operations of the Defense Intelligence Agency from November 2019 to 2021.
