| Achievement Medal | |
|---|---|
    
Five Achievement Medals are awarded by branch or service. From left to right: Joint Service, Army, Navy & Marine Corps, Air Force & Space Force, and Coast Guard.
| |
| Type | Medal (decoration) |
| Awarded for | "Meritorious service or achievement in either combat or noncombat situations based on sustained performance or specific achievement of a superlative nature but which does not warrant a Commendation Medal or higher." |
| Presented by | United States Department of Defense 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] |
| Eligibility | Military personnel only |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Established | Naval Service (1961) Coast Guard (1963) Army (1981) Air and Space Forces (1980) Joint Service (1983) |
    
Service ribbons for the Joint Service, Army, Naval Service, Air and Space Forces, and Coast Guard Achievement Medals
| |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Service commendation medals |
| Next (lower) | Army: Prisoner of War Medal Naval Service: Combat Action Ribbon Air and Space Forces: Combat Action Medal Coast Guard: Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon |
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[5] of military personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher Commendation Medal or the Meritorious Service Medal.
Each military service issues its own version of the Achievement Medal, with a fifth version authorized by the U.S. Department of Defense for joint military activity. The Achievement Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement or meritorious service not of a nature that would otherwise warrant awarding the Commendation Medal. Award authority rests with local commanders, granting a broad discretion of when and for what action the Achievement Medal may be awarded.[citation needed]
The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM), is the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps' version of the Achievement Medal. The U.S. Navy was the first branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to award such a medal, doing so in 1961, when it was dubbed the "Secretary of the Navy Commendation for Achievement Medal." This title was shortened in 1967 to simply, the "Navy Achievement Medal." On August 19, 1994, to recognize those of the United States Marine Corps who had received the Navy Achievement Medal, the name of the decoration was officially changed to the "Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal". The award is still often referred to in shorthand speech as the "Navy Achievement Medal" or "NAM" for short.
From its inception in the early 1960s to 2002, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal could not be approved by the commanding officers of ships, submarines, aviation squadron, or shore activities who held the rank of Commander (O-5). Awards for crewmembers had to be submitted to the Commodore or Air Wing Commander or the first appropriate O-6 in the chain of command for approval, who then signed the award and returned it. This led to a dramatically lower awarding rate when compared to similar size units in the Army or Air Force awarding their own achievement medals, especially considering that those services did not establish their respective achievement medals until the 1980s. Since 2002 the commanding officers of aviation squadrons and ships have had the authority to award NAMs without submission to higher authority.[6] This is in contrast to the Army, where battalion commanders or the first O-5 in a soldier's chain of command are the authorizing official.
The United States Coast Guard created its own Coast Guard Achievement Medal in 1967; the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force issued their own versions of the award with the Army Achievement Medal (AAM) in 1981[7] and Air Force Achievement Medal (AFAM) in 1980.[8] Effective 11 September 2001, the Army Achievement Medal may be awarded in a combat area.[9] Since this change over sixty thousand Army Achievement Medals have been awarded in theaters of operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan.[10] On 16 November 2020, the Air Force Achievement Medal was renamed to the Air and Space Achievement Medal (ASAM) by the Secretary of the Air Force.[11]
The Joint Service Achievement Medal (JSAM) was created in 1983.[12][13] This award was considered a Department of Defense decoration senior to the service department Achievement Medals.
The following devices may be authorized to be worn on the following achievement medals suspension ribbon and service ribbon:
The following ribbon devices were authorized in the past but have now been discontinued:[15]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Includes Army Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Air Force Achievement Medal.
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| Personal decorations |
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| Unit awards |
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| Good Conduct medals |
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| Expeditionary medals |
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| Service ribbon awards |
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| Marksmanship |
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| Decorations |
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| Lifesaving Medals |
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| Unit Awards |
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| Conduct Medals |
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| Service Awards |
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| Marksmanship |
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