R 231729Z APR 25
MARADMIN 201/25
SUBJ/2025 AMERICAN LEGION SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARD NOMINATION/ AND
APPLICATION PROCESS//
NARR/A/MSGID:LTR/AMERLEG/YMD:20250109//
AMPN/REF A IS A LETTER FROM AMERICAN LEGION TO COMREL REQUESTING 
AWARD SUPPORT//
POC/C. CASH/CIV/AMERLEG /TEL: 202-263-5763/ EMAIL:
CCASH@LEGION.ORG//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  The purpose of this MARADMIN is to announce and
solicit nominations for the Annual American Legion's Spirit of
Service Award.  Sponsored by the National Headquarters of the
American Legion, this award is presented annually to an enlisted
service members (E-5 and below) from each of the military services
for outstanding volunteer service performed off duty in their local
community.  The awards are presented during the national convention,
which will take place in Tampa Bay, FL 24 August to 28 August 2025.
2.  Selection criteria. The following criteria have been established
for the selection of the nominee for the American Legion's Spirit of
Service Award:
2.a.  Nominee must be serving on active duty or as a member of the
reserve or National Guard in a branch of the uniformed services of
the United States of America when the volunteer service is
performed.
2.b.  Nominee that meets criteria must have served in the pay
grades of E-5 and below when the act is performed.
2.c.  Nominee must be serving on active duty at the time the award
is presented at the national convention/conference.
2.d.  Service for which nominee is to be recognized must be
voluntary action initiated by nominee and not a result of directions
or orders.
2.e.  Service 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.
3.  Nomination criteria. Nominations must be fully substantiated
and reflect a careful and conscientious evaluation of the nominee.
Each nomination package shall:
3.a.  Include all appropriate endorsements, to include, at a
minimum, an endorsement from the first officer in the nominee's
chain of command. 
3.b.  The period of volunteer service should be 1 January – 31
December 2024. Number of volunteer hours and organization name where
nominee provided community service, as well as the activity must be
listed on nominee’s bio sheet.
3.c.  Be addressed from the nominating unit to the American Legion
via the chain of command.
3.d.  Include a statement that, if selected, the nominee will be
available to receive the award at the American Legion's National
Convention.
3.e.  Cite specific examples of volunteer community service 
performed off-duty and show how the community benefitted from that
service.  Nominations must also reflect outstanding military
performance.
4.  Nomination format.  The nomination must be in standard naval 
letter format and include the following information: 
4.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.
4.b.  A nomination justification section in paragraph or bullet
format.
4.c.  Name and address of the unit in which nominee was serving when
volunteer service was made.
4.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:
5.a.  Nominee's professional biography.
5.b.  A proposed citation in standard paragraph format to be read at
the award's presentation, if selected.
5.c.  8" x 10" glossy .jpg photograph or the nominee's
high-resolution digital head and shoulder photograph.  This should
be an official biography photo taken by their respective unit in a
full-service uniform.
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 American Legion.  The award
recipient should plan on arriving at the convention no later than
(NLT) 24 August and depart 28 August 2025.
8.  All nominations should be sent electronically via email: 
ccash@legion.org using document format with the following subject
Line: "2025 AMERICAN LEGION'S SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARDS PROGRAM IN
CASE OF RANK/NAME."  Hard copy nominations will not be accepted.
9.  Deadline.  Nomination packages must be received NLT COB, EST 15
May 2025.  No extensions or exceptions will be granted.
10.  Logistics and expenditures.  The awardee will be covered in
terms of compensation if the awardee drives to the convention.  If
the awardee flies within the continental US, they will be covered
for the flights and that will be secured on the Legion's part, as
well as the commander’s banquet for the award recipient.  Any
additional accompanying guests will not be covered by the American
Legion.  Using this message as a reference, commands are encouraged
to issue temporary additional duty orders so the award recipient may
attend the convention.  Specific coordinating details, to include
travel arrangements and uniform requirements, will be sent to the
award recipient by the American Legion following the selection
process.  For additional logistical details about this program,
contact Ms. Courtney Cash of the American Legion via email to:
ccash@legion.org or via telephone at (202) 263-5763.
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 SES April L. Langwell, Director Of 
Communication, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps.//