R 011120Z APR 22
MARADMIN 161/22
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC CD WASHINGTON DC//
SUBJ/2022 NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS ASSOCIATION (NCOA) OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MILITARY VANGUARD AWARD NOMINATION AND APPLICATION PROCESS//
AMPN/REF A IS NCOA MILITARY VANGUARD AWARD POLICIES & PROCEDURES//
POC/H. POWELL-RAY/CIV/CMC WASHINGTON DC CD/TEL: 703-692-1528/EMAIL: HATTIE.POWELL-RAY@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  The purpose of this MARADMIN is to announce and solicit nominations for the Non-Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA) of the United States of America, Military Vanguard Award.  The Non Commissioned Officers Association annually recognizes one enlisted member from each of the uniformed service for acts of heroism.  This recognition is made to honor those individuals who have performed a particularly heroic act that resulted in the saving of a life or the prevention of serious injury.  Selectees will receive the Non-Commissioned Officers Association Military Vanguard Award, named in honor and memory of enlisted recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor of their respective service.  The awards are presented during the Non-Commissioned Officers Association National Conference, in San Antonio, TX, at the Hilton Airport Hotel, 19-22 July 2022.
2.  Selection criteria:  The following criteria have been established for the selection of the nominee for the Military Vanguard Award:
A.  Nominee must be serving on active duty or as a member of the Reserve or National Guard in a branch of Uniformed Services of the United States of America during the period of the time the heroic act is performed.
B.  Nominee that meets criteria must have served in pay grades E-1 through E-9 during the period of time the act is performed.
C.  Nominee must be serving on active duty at the time the award is presented at the Annual Convention/Conference.
D.  Act for which nominee is to be recognized must be voluntary action initiated by nominee and not a result of directions or orders.
E.  Act for which nominee is to be recognized must be an action performed to save life or prevent serious injury to another person or persons.
F.  Action performed by nominee must have brought credit to the individual, his or her service, and the enlisted community of the Uniformed Services of the United States of America.
G.  Act for which nominee is to be recognized must have occurred within the previous calendar year.
3.  Nomination criteria.  Nominations must be fully substantiated and reflect a careful and conscientious evaluation of the nominee.  Each nomination package shall:
A.  Include all appropriate endorsements, to include, at a minimum, an endorsement from the first officer in the nominee's chain of command.
B.  Be addressed from the nominating unit to the Non-Commissioned Officers Association via the chain of command.
C.  Include a statement that, if selected, the nominee will be available to receive the award at the Non-Commissioned Officers Association National Conference, barring any pandemic or health-related travel restriction concerns.
D.  Cite specific examples of heroic action must be an action performed to save life or prevent serious injury to another person or persons.  Performed off duty and show how the community benefitted from that service. Heroic act must be within calendar year 2021.  Nominations must also reflect outstanding military performance.
4.  Nomination format.  The nomination must be in standard letter format and include the following information: 
A.  Nominee's full name, rank, military occupation specialty (MOS), current duty station, unit address, work phone number, home of record, and a work email address.
B.  A nomination justification section in paragraph or bullet format.
C.  Name and address of the unit in which nominee was serving when the heroic act was made.
D.  Name of unit officer in charge and his/her contact phone number and email address.
5.  Additional enclosures.  In addition to the nomination letter, each submission must include the following as separate enclosures:
A.  Nominee's professional biography.
B.  A proposed citation in standard paragraph format to be read at the awards presentation if selected.
6.  Submissions which do not follow the above guidelines or are received after the deadline specified in paragraph 9 will not be considered.
7.  Upon completion of the selection process, the command and selected awardee will be notified by the Non-Commissioned Officers Association.  The award recipient should plan on arriving at the National Conference no later than (NLT) Monday, 19 July and depart Friday, 22 July, 2022.
8.  Submissions.  All nominations should be sent electronically via email to:  JTERRY@NCOAUSA.ORG using document format with the following subject line:  "2022 Non-Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA) of the United States of America Military Vanguard Awards Program in case of rank/name."  Hard copy nominations will not be accepted.
9.  Deadline. Nomination packages must be received NLT COB, EST 29 Apr 2022.
10.  Logistics and expenditures.  The Non-Commissioned Officers Association will provide transportation to and from the National Conference in San Antonio, TX.  The selected recipients will be the guests of the NCOA at the conference/reception and will be afforded the opportunity to have one family member (spouse, mother, father only) also attend the conference/reception as a guest of the Association.  NCOA will pay the travel expenses for the selectee’s family member attending the conference.  Selectee’s individual service will pay the travel expenses for the selectee’s travel to and from the conference/reception.  Using this message as a reference, commands are encouraged to issue temporary additional duty orders so the award recipient may attend the conference.  Specific coordinating details, to include travel arrangements and uniform requirements, will be sent to the award recipient by the Non-Commissioned Officers Association following the selection process. For additional logistical details about this program, contact Mr. Joseph Terry of the Non-Commissioned Officers Association via email:  JTERRY@NCOAUSA.ORG.
11.  A written and signed, statement of consent by the nominee, authorizing release of information contained in the nomination, per the Privacy Act of 1974.  The following statement is a sample of written consent:  "I, rank/full name, do hereby authorize the release of all information enclosed in this nomination package to those persons involved in the selection process."
12.  Award recipients must report acceptance of travel to their local Staff Judge Advocate (SJA).  Local SJA, in turn, must report this information to HQMC JA Division’s Code JCA for semi-annual DOD reporting purposes.  SF 326 (Semiannual Report of Payments Accepted from a Non-Federal Source) is authorized for use for this report
13.  Release authorized by Brigadier General George B. Rowell IV, Director of Communication, HQMC.//