R 262106Z FEB 25
MARADMIN 093/25
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM//
SUBJ/MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION
SEASON//
REF/A/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD: 2/5/2020//
REF/B/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD: 2/19/2021//
REF/C/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD: 3/21/2022//
REF/D/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD: 2/13/2023//
REF/E/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD: 5/15/2024//
REF/F/DOC/SECNAV/YMD: 20190529//
REF/G/DOC/SECNAV/YMD: 20190816//
REF/H/DOC/CMC/YMD: 20121015//
NARR/REF A IS MARADMIN 065/20, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2020
PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON. REF B IS MARADMIN 080/21,
MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2021 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION
SEASON. REF C IS MARADMIN 132/22, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE
2022 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON. REF D IS MARADMIN 086/23,
MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2023 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION
SEASON. REF E IS MARADMIN 222/24, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE
2024 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON. REF F IS SECNAVINST
1650.1J, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY MILITARY AWARDS POLICY. REF G IS
SECNAV M-1650.1, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS MANUAL. REF H IS
MCO 1650.19J W/CH-1, ADMINISTRATIVE AND ISSUE PROCEDURES FOR
DECORATIONS, MEDALS, AND AWARDS.//
POC/HQMC MMPB-3//TEL: 703-784-9342/EMAIL:
SMB_HQMC_PERS_AWARDS@USMC.MIL
POC/A. L. CRUZ/CAPT/HQMC MMPB-31/TEL: 703-784-9342
DSN: 312-278-9342/EMAIL: SMB_HQMC_PERS_AWARDS@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Cancellations. References (a-e) are hereby
cancelled.
2. Per the references, the following guidance is the enduring
military awards Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Season
guidance.
3. Identifying Award Nominees. Prior to the start of the PCS
season, unit award administrators (UAAs) should identify the
outbound population for the command and publish this information
to the command leadership. Award originators are to identify those
high performing individuals deserving of Department of the Navy
(DoN) personal military decorations (PMDs) and submit the
appropriate recommendation via the improved Awards Processing System
(iAPS).
Nominations shall be submitted in a timely manner to ensure
the award is complete prior to the anticipated presentation date.
4. DoN PMD Format and Processing. All DoN PMDs from Marine Corps
Commands shall be originated in iAPS.
4.a. Summary of Action (SOA). Reference (g) limits the SOA for
PMDs to two pages. Since the iAPS SOA field has no lines or
character limit, award originators must ensure compliance by
using the “Print 11533 (PDF)” button in iAPS, to verify that the SOA
does not exceed two pages. A SOA is required for all PMD
nominations from Marine Corps commands.
4.b. Citations and Certificates. Originators should carefully
review the opening and closing sentences in reference (g).
Awarding authorities are responsible for ensuring that the award
produced and presented aligns with the approval in iAPS.
The citation and certificate must be uploaded to the "certificate"
section of the iAPS case to facilitate the inclusion of the award
into the nominee’s Official Military Personnel File (OMPF).
Only the citation and certificate should be attached
in the “certificate” section of iAPS.
4.b.1. Meritorious Service Medal and Above. To comply with
reference (g), the character limit for the Meritorious Service Medal
and awards of higher precedence is 1670 characters, and the citation
should be written in standard case format. Meeting the character
count in iAPS does not justify exceeding the line count for the
citation, nor does meeting the line count justify exceeding the
character count.
4.b.2. Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Below. To
comply with reference (g), the character limit for the Navy and
Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps
Achievement Medal iAPS citations/certificates will remain at 1250
characters, typed in all capital letters. Commands are authorized
to deviate from the formatting requirements in reference (g) as
identified below:
4.b.2.a. The font size must be between 8 and 12 pitch.
4.b.2.b. The left and right margins must be between 0.5” and 1.0.”
5. Timeline for Submission. Reference (g) states PMD nominations
should be submitted to the final awarding authority for
adjudication at least 60 days prior to the desired presentation
date. Failure to meet this timeline may result in the PMD not being
adjudicated in time for the intended presentation. The intent is
for approved PMDs to be presented to the recipient prior to
detachment or separation from the command in which the actions
occurred. Award originators must plan the submission timeline
based on the 60-day requirement.
5.a. In accordance with reference (h), awards approved by CMC, the
nominations must reach CMC (MMPB-31) in iAPS NLT 60 days prior to
the anticipated presentation date.
5.b. In accordance with references (g) and (h), awards approved by
the SECNAV must reach CMC (MMPB-31) in iAPS NLT 90 days prior to the
anticipated presentation date.
6. Requests to expedite PMDs awarded by CMC or higher authority.
Requests to expedite PMDs will only be accepted in cases of
retirement, relief and appointments, or changes of command.
A request to expedite an award must be signed by the senior
endorsing General Officer. A request to expedite an award reduces
the number of votes required by the HQMC Military Awards Board.
This does not, however, guarantee that the award will be completed
by the desired presentation date. The request must include an
explanation of why the award needs to be expedited.
7. Retirement and Separation Awards.
7.a. Meritorious Period End Date. Please note that the end date for
the meritorious period of separation or retirement awards should be
approximately two weeks prior to the retirement date or start
of terminal leave. This ensures that the award can be reported in
Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) and added to the Certificate
of Release or Discharge (DD-214). Awards not reported in MCTFS
prior to a Marine starting terminal leave, or retirement are
typically not included on the DD-214. In such cases, the Marine
must submit a request for correction to their DD-214 using Standard
Form 180.
7.b. Other Service Originators. Those Marines who are retiring
from a joint command may be nominated for a DoN award. The joint
command should utilize the NAVMC 11533. A blank copy of the NAVMC
11533 can be found on the MMPB-31 website. Once the NAVMC 11533 has
been endorsed by the first General or Flag Officer in the joint
chain of command, it should be submitted to the MMPB-3
organizational mailbox.
8. Certificates of Commendation and Below. Although a SOA section
exists in iAPS for Certificates of Commendation, a SOA is not
required. Simply enter “SOA not required” in this field. Note that
Meritorious Masts recommendations created in iAPS, are often
erroneously forwarded to MMPB-31. To prevent an unsigned document
from being uploaded to the OMPF, it is recommended that the award be
originated by the awarding authority and that a signed certificate
be uploaded prior to approval.
9. Combat Action Ribbon (CR) and Combat Conditions PMDs. It is
possible to receive a PMD with a C device or a Bronze Star Medal for
meritorious service under combat conditions, and not qualify for the
CR. The awarding authority is responsible for ensuring the criteria
contained in reference (g) are met for all CR or a combat condition
award recommendations.
10. Common Mistakes regarding PMDs.
10.a. Incorrect opening or closing sentences. Specifically, on the
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps
Achievement Medal. Utilize Reference (g).
10.b. Inconsistent action dates on the NAVMC 11533 award form, SOA,
citation, and certificate.
10.c. Incorrect Meritorious Period End Date for Marines separating
from service. Specifically setting the date too late to allow for
sufficient time for processing.
10.d. Inconsistent dates for award approval in iAPS and date on
certificate, see reference (g).
10.e. Incorrect use of “great credit”. “Great credit” is only used
on awards of the Air Medal and above.
10.f. A commander approving an award for which they are not the
awarding authority.
10.g. A commander directing an originator to rescind an
award and originate a lesser award. Per reference (g), an award
nomination may only be downgraded or disapproved by the official who
has the authority to approve the award.
10.h. Award approved in iAPS does not match the citation and
certificate presented to the recipient.
10.i. A Marine commander approving a DoN PMD for a foreign service
member.
10.j. Attaching documents other than the signed citation or
certificate in the "certificate" field in iAPS. The documents
attached in the certificate section of the approved award are
uploaded into the recipient’s OMPF. Do not attach letters of
transmittal or the NAVMC 11533.
10.k. Administrative Corrections should be submitted to MMPB-31
utilizing the template for administrative change requests on the
MMPB-31 website.
11. This MARADMIN is applicable to the total force.
12. Release authorized by MajGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director,
Manpower Management Division.//