View source for Achievement Medal

{{short description|Military decoration of the United States Armed Forces}}
{{Infobox award
| name = Achievement Medal
| image = [[File:Joint Service Achievement Medal Obverse.jpg|75px]] [[File:ArmyAchiveMed.png|75px]] [[File:Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.svg|75px]] [[File:USAF Achievement Medal Obverse.jpg|75px]] [[File:USCG Achievement Medal Obverse.jpg|75px]]
| caption = Five Achievement Medals are awarded by branch or service. From left to right (Top): Joint Service, Army, Navy & Marine Corps, Air Force & Space Force, and (at bottom) Coast Guard.
| presenter = [[United States Department of Defense]]<Br/>[[United States Department of the Army]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://govdocs.rutgers.edu/mil/army/r600_8_22.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110243/http://govdocs.rutgers.edu/mil/army/r600_8_22.pdf |archive-date=2018-01-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref><br/>[[United States Department of the Navy]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://awards.navy.mil/awards/webdoc01.nsf/(vwDocsByID)/DL060927142728/$file/1650.1H.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918020113/https://awards.navy.mil/awards/webdoc01.nsf/(vwDocsByID)/DL060927142728/$file/1650.1H.pdf |archive-date=2010-09-18 |url-status=dead}}</ref><br/>[[United States Department of the Air Force]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi36-2803/afi36-2803.pdf |title=Production publication |website=static.e-publishing.af.mil |access-date=2018-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127192422/http://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/afi36-2803/afi36-2803.pdf |archive-date=2018-01-27 |url-status=dead}}</ref><br/>[[United States Department of Homeland Security]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723556/-1/-1/0/CIM_1650_25E.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904105203/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723556/-1/-1/0/CIM_1650_25E.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |title=Data |date=2017 |website=media.defense.gov}}</ref>
| type = Medal (decoration)
| eligibility = Military personnel only
| 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."
| campaign = 
| status = Currently awarded
| description = 
| clasps = 
| established = Naval Service (1961)<br />Coast Guard (1963)<br />Army (1981)<br />Air and Space Forces (1980)<br />Joint Service (1983)
| firstawarded = 
| lastawarded = 
| total_awarded = 
| total_awarded_posthumously = 
| total_recipients = 
| individual = 
| higher = [[Commendation Medal|Service commendation medal]]s
| same = 
| lower = Army: [[Prisoner of War Medal]]<br/>Naval Service: [[Combat Action Ribbon]]<br/>Air and Space Forces: [[Combat Action Medal]]<br/>Coast Guard: [[Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon]]
| related = 
| image2 = [[File:Joint Service Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|border|124px]]&nbsp;[[File:Army Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|border|124px]]<br/>[[File:Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|border|124px]]&nbsp;[[File:Air Force Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|border|124px]]<br/>[[File:U.S. Coast Guard Achievement Medal ribbon.svg|border|124px]]
| caption2 = Service ribbons for the Joint Service, Army, Naval & Marine Corps Service, Air and Space Forces, and Coast Guard Achievement Medals
| reverse = [[File:Joint Service Achievement Medal Reverse.jpg|100px]]<br/>Joint Service<br/>[[File:Army Achievement Medal Reverse.jpg|100px]]<br/>Army<br/>[[File:Navy Achievement Medal Reverse.jpg|100px]]<br/>Navy<br/>[[File:USAF Achievement Medal Reverse.jpg|100px]]<br/>USAF<br/>[[File:USCG Achievement Medal Reverse.jpg|100px]]<br/>USCG<br/>
}}

The '''Achievement Medal''' is a military [[Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces|decoration]] of the [[United States Armed Forces]]. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.afpc.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/421869/air-force-achievement-medal/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217012252/http://www.afpc.af.mil/About/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/421869/air-force-achievement-medal/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 17, 2017|title=Air Force Achievement Medal}}</ref> of military personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher [[Commendation Medal]] or the [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]].

Each military service issues its own version of the Achievement Medal, with a fifth version authorized by the [[United States Department of Defense|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|date=December 2013}}

==History==
[[File:Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal ribbon with "V" device, 3rd award.svg|thumb|124px|The Navy and Marine Corps ribbon bar of the Achievement Medal with [["V" device]] denoting combat bravery. The "V" device ceased being awarded with Achievement Medals in 2016.]]
[[File:Midshipman Madison L. O'Donnell's Navy Achievement Medal certificate.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Certificate of a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal awarded in 2023 to a midshipman]]

===Navy and Marine Corps===
The '''Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal''' ('''NAM'''), is the [[United States Navy]] and [[United States Marine Corps|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.

====Chain of Command approval====
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 [[command hierarchy|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.<ref name=SECNAVINST1650>{{cite report |title=SECNAVINST 1650.1H - NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS MANUAL |publisher=United States Navy |url=https://awards.navy.mil/awards/webdoc01.nsf/(vwDocsByID)/DL060927142728/$file/1650.1H.pdf |page=13 |date=August 22, 2006 |access-date=10 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918020113/https://awards.navy.mil/awards/webdoc01.nsf/(vwDocsByID)/DL060927142728/$file/1650.1H.pdf |archive-date=2010-09-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  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.

===Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard===
The [[United States Coast Guard]] created its own '''Coast Guard Achievement Medal''' in 1967; the [[United States Army|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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/army_achievement.aspx|title=Error|work=pentagon.mil|access-date=2011-05-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121085947/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/army_achievement.aspx|archive-date=2012-01-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>  and '''Air Force Achievement Medal''' ('''AFAM''') in 1980.<ref name="Air Force Achievement Medal">{{cite web|url=http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7779|title=Factsheets : Air Force Achievement Medal|work=af.mil|access-date=2011-05-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616183900/http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7779|archive-date=2011-06-16|url-status=dead}}</ref> Effective 11 September 2001, the Army Achievement Medal may be awarded in a combat area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/32cfr578.21.htm|title=Army Achievement Medal.|website=edocket.access.gpo.gov}}</ref> Since this change over sixty thousand Army Achievement Medals have been awarded in theaters of operations such as Iraq and Afghanistan.<ref>[https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/Active/TAGD/awards/STATS/Historical_Stats.htm#ERAOIF Awards and Decorations Statistics by Conflict, Operation or Incident] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815025347/https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/Active/TAGD/awards/STATS/Historical_Stats.htm#ERAOIF |date=August 15, 2011 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 27, 2022 |title=Department of the Air Force Manual 36-2806 |url=https://static.e-publishing.af.mil/production/1/af_a1/publication/dafman36-2806/dafman36-2806.pdf |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=Air Force}}</ref>

===Joint Service Achievement Medal===
The '''Joint Service Achievement Medal''' ('''JSAM''') was created in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Joint Service Achievement Medal |url=http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/joint_srv_achievement.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303123914/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/joint_srv_achievement.aspx |archive-date=2011-03-03 |access-date=2011-05-28 |work=The Institute of Heraldry}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7778|title=Factsheets : Joint Service Achievement Medal|work=af.mil|access-date=2011-12-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207172901/http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7778|archive-date=2012-02-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> This award was considered a Department of Defense decoration senior to the service department Achievement Medals.

==Ribbon devices==
The following devices may be authorized to be worn on the following achievement medals suspension ribbon and [[service ribbon]]:
* All Achievement Medals{{Snd}} "C" and "R" devices, which respectively signify meritorious performance "under combat conditions" or lethal effects in a combat zone from a remote location after January 2016<ref>{{cite news |last1=deGrandpre |first1=Andrew |last2=Panzino |first2=Charlsy |date=30 March 2017 |title=12 military awards now eligible for new 'C' and 'R' devices, and 2 no longer rate a 'V' |url=https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2017/03/30/12-military-awards-now-eligible-for-new-c-and-r-devices-and-2-no-longer-rate-a-v/ |work=Military Times |location=Virginia |access-date=17 March 2018 }}<br/>{{cite news |last=Dickstein |first=Corey |date=31 March 2017 |title=Pentagon implements 'C' and 'R' awards devices, removes 'V' from 2 awards |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/pentagon-implements-c-and-r-awards-devices-removes-v-from-2-awards-1.461526 |work=Stars and Stripes |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=17 March 2018 }}</ref>
* Joint Service Achievement Medal (all service branches){{Snd}} for additional awards, oak leaf clusters
* Army Achievement Medal{{Snd}} for additional awards, [[oak leaf cluster]]s
* Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal{{Snd}} for additional awards, [[5/16 inch star]]s
* Air and Space Achievement Medal{{Snd}} for additional awards, oak leaf clusters
* Coast Guard Achievement Medal{{Snd}} for additional awards, 5/16 inch stars 
* Coast Guard Achievement Medal{{Snd}} [[Operational Distinguishing Device]] ("O" device)<ref name="Air Force Achievement Medal" />
* Coast Guard Achievement Medal{{Snd}} Combat Distinguishing Device (Combat "V")

===Former ribbon devices===
The following ribbon devices were authorized in the past but have now been discontinued:<ref name=RevokeV>{{cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/pentagon-implements-c-and-r-awards-devices-removes-v-from-2-awards-1.461526|title=Pentagon implements 'C' and 'R' awards devices, removes 'V' from 2 awards}}</ref>

* Air Force Achievement Medal{{Snd}} [["V" Device]] until December 2016<ref name=RevokeV/><ref name=Instruction134833>{{cite web|url=http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134833_dodi_2016.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427120106/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134833_dodi_2016.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 April 2017|work=DoD Instruction 1348.33: DoD Military Decoretions and Awards Program|access-date=27 April 2017|publisher=Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness|date=21 December 2016|first1=Peter|last1=Levine|page=13|title=Section 3: Award Requirements and Restrictions|quote=Includes Army Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Air Force Achievement Medal.}}</ref>
* Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal{{Snd}} Combat Distinguishing Device (Combat "V") until December 2016<ref name=RevokeV/><ref name=Instruction134833/>

==See also==
* [[Awards and decorations of the United States government]]
* [[Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces]]
* [[Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard]]
* [[Navy Civilian Service Achievement Medal]]
* [[Public Health Service Achievement Medal]]
* [[NOAA Corps Achievement Medal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090210142406/http://navywriter.com/namcam.htm Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal Citation Examples]
* [https://www.hrc.army.mil/SITE/Active/TAGD/awards/FAQs/Joint_Awards.htm HRC Joint Awards FAQ]

{{US interservice decorations}}
{{USAF decorations}}
{{USArmy decorations}}
{{US navy department decorations}}
{{USCG decorations}}

[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force]]
[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard]]
[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Marine Corps]]
[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Awards and decorations of the United States Space Force]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1961]] <!-- Navy -->
[[Category:Awards established in 1967]] <!-- Coast Guard -->
[[Category:Awards established in 1981]] <!-- Army, Air Force -->
[[Category:Awards established in 1983]] <!-- Joint Service Achievement Medal -->
[[Category:Awards established in 1994]] <!-- Navy and Marine Corps -->
[[Category:1961 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1981 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in the United States]]