Navy Expeditionary Medal

The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Award criteria

The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded to the officers and enlisted men of the Navy who were confirmed to have landed on foreign territory and engaged in operations against armed opposition, or operated under circumstances which, after full consideration, shall be deemed to merit special recognition and for which no service or campaign medal has been awarded. The Navy Expeditionary Medal is retroactively authorized to February 12, 1874."

Design

The medal was designed by A. A. Weinman and features a sailor beaching a craft carrying Marines, an officer, and a US flag with the word "Expeditions" above. On the reverse of both the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal and Navy Expeditionary Medal, in the center of the bronze medallion an eagle is shown alight upon an anchor; the eagle is facing to the left and the flukes of the anchor are to the right. The eagle is grasping sprigs of laurel, which extend beyond the anchor in both directions. Above the eagle are the words UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS or UNITED STATES NAVY presented as an arch. Above the laurel are the words FOR SERVICE presented horizontally. The eagle is the American bald eagle and represents the United States, the anchor alludes to Marine Corps or Navy service, and the laurel is symbolic of victory and achievement.<ref name=":0" />

Marine Corps eligibility

The medal is one of the few Navy awards which are not concurrently bestowed to the United States Marine Corps, as Marine Corps personnel are eligible for the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal as an equivalent award. In addition, since 1961, some Navy commands have permitted service members to choose between the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for participation in certain operations. Both awards may not be bestowed simultaneously for the same action.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Navy and marine corps awards manual, secnavinst 1650.1 series</ref>

Additional awards

Additional awards of the Navy Expeditionary Medal are denoted by service stars.

Wake Island Device

The Wake Island Device is authorized for those service members who were awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal through the defense of Wake Island.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As the vast majority of the defenders of Wake Island were U.S. Marines, the Navy Expeditionary Medal with the Wake Island device is one of the rarest awards in the U.S. military history, with only 68 eligible recipients.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>