R 011930Z APR 15
MARADMIN 172/15
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC OUSMCC//
SUBJ/2015 AMERICAN LEGION SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARD//
REF/A/MSGID: DOC/MCO P1070.12K/YMD: 20000714//
REF/B/MSGID: MSG/MARADMIN 003-09/060930ZJAN2009//
NARR/REF A IS THE MARINE CORPS INDIVIDUAL RECORDS ADMINISTRATION MANUAL (IRAM). REF B IS MARADMIN 003-09 TRANSMISSION AND FILING OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS TO THE OFFICIAL MILITARY PERSONNEL FILE (OMPF).//
POC/C.DABNEY/SGT/CMC WASHINGTON DC OUSMCC/HQMC OUSMCC/TEL: 703-614-1034/EMAIL:COREY.DABNEY(AT)USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. THIS MARADMIN ANNOUNCES THE CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 15TH ANNUAL AMERICAN LEGION SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARD. THIS AWARD IS PRESENTED ANNUALLY TO AN ENLISTED MEMBER (E5 AND BELOW) FROM EACH OF THE MILITARY SERVICES FOR OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER SERVICE PERFORMED OFF-DUTY IN THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITY.  THE AWARDS WILL BE PRESENTED DURING THE AMERICAN LEGION'S NATIONAL CONVENTION WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 28 AUGUST THROUGH 3 SEPTEMBER 2015.
2.  NOMINATION CRITERIA. NOMINATIONS MUST BE FULLY SUBSTANTIATED AND REFLECT A CAREFUL AND CONSCIENTIOUS EVALUATION OF THE NOMINEE. EACH NOMINATION PACKAGE WILL:
    A.  BE ORIGINATED BY THE NOMINEE’S COMMANDER AND ADDRESSED TO THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS, OFFICE OF U.S. MARINE CORPS COMMUNICATION (OUSMCC), AND ENDORSED VIA THE CHAIN OF COMMAND THROUGH THE FIRST GENERAL OFFICER.
    B.  INCLUDE A STATEMENT THAT, IF SELECTED, THE NOMINEE WILL BE AVAILABLE TO RECEIVE THE AWARD AT THE AMERICAN LEGION'S NATIONAL CONVENTION.
    C.  CITE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY SERVICE PERFORMED OFF-DUTY AND HOW THE COMMUNITY BENEFITTED FROM THAT SERVICE. VOLUNTEER SERVICE MUST BE WITHIN CALENDAR YEAR 2014. NOMINATIONS MUST ALSO REFLECT OUTSTANDING MILITARY PERFORMANCE.
3.  NOMINATION FORMAT. SUBMIT NOMINATIONS IN STANDARD NAVAL LETTER FORMAT AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:
    A. NOMINEE'S FULL NAME, RANK, MOS, CURRENT DUTY STATION, UNIT ADDRESS, WORK PHONE NUMBER, HOME OF RECORD, AND A WORK EMAIL ADDRESS.
    B.  NOMINATION JUSTIFICATION SECTION IN PARAGRAPH OR BULLETIZED FORMAT.
    C.  NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE UNIT IN WHICH NOMINEE WAS SERVING WHEN VOLUNTEER SERVICE WAS MADE.
    D.  NAME OF NOMINEE’S OFFICER-IN-CHARGE AND HIS/HER CONTACT PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL ADDRESS.
    E.  THE AMERICAN LEGION NEEDS THE NOMINEE’S PERSONAL INFORMATION TO COORDINATE TRAVEL, IF SELECTED.
    F.  ENCLOSURES. IN ADDITION TO THE NOMINATION LETTER AND PHOTOGRAPH, EACH NOMINATION MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ENCLOSURES.
        (A) NOMINEE'S PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY.
        (B) A PROPOSED CITATION TO BE READ AT THE AWARDS PRESENTATION, IF SELECTED.
        (C) NOMINEE’S WRITTEN AND SIGNED CONSENT FOR 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."
        (D) A FULL-LENGTH DIGITAL PHOTO OF THE NOMINEE IN THE SERVICE 'C' UNIFORM FOR MALES AND SERVICE 'C' WITH SLACKS FOR FEMALES; DEPLOYED MARINES WITHOUT THE SERVICE 'C' UNIFORM WILL WEAR THE MARINE CORPS COMBAT UTILITY UNIFORM MINUS THE UTILITY BLOUSE, WITH LEFT SHOULDER FORWARD. THIS IS AN OFFICIAL PHOTO AND MUST ADHERE TO GUIDELINES CONTAINED IN REFERENCES A AND B. PHOTO MUST BE OF HIGH RESOLUTION QUALITY, NOT LESS THAN 300 DPI. ONLY DIGITAL PHOTOS ARE ACCEPTABLE, AND MUST BE SENT IN A SEPARATE FILE FROM THE NOMINATION PACKAGE, PREFERABLY AS A JOINT PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPERTS GROUP (JPEG) FILE. SEE PARAGRAPH 5 FOR SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS. COMMANDS ARE ENCOURAGED TO USE LOCAL COMBAT CAMERA SERVICES FOR PHOTO PRODUCTION.
4.  A SAMPLE NOMINATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE VIA THE MARINE CORPS WEBSITE AT: HTTP://COMMUNITY.MARINES.MIL/COMMUNITY. CLICK ON "RESOURCES," THEN "LINKS". SUBMISSIONS WHICH DO NOT FOLLOW THE ABOVE GUIDELINES OR ARE RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE SPECIFIED BELOW WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
5.  SUBMISSIONS. SUBMIT ALL NOMINATIONS ELECTRONICALLY VIA EMAIL TO: HQMC.COMREL(AT)USMC.MIL USING BOTH PDF AND JPEG FILES WITH THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT LINE: "2015 AMERICAN LEGION SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARDS PROGRAM; ICO OF RANK/NAME." DO NOT SEND HARD COPY NOMINATIONS; THEY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
6.  DEADLINE. NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NOT LATER THAN 13 MAY 2015.
7.  THE MARINE SELECTED FOR THE AWARD AND THE UNIT COMMANDER WILL BE NOTIFIED BY THE AMERICAN LEGION. ADDITIONALLY, A MARADMIN WILL BE RELEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE MARINE CORPS AWARD RECIPIENT. THE AWARD RECIPIENT SHOULD PLAN TO ARRIVE AT THE CONVENTION NO LATER THAN 29 AUGUST AND DEPART NO EARLIER THAN 2 SEPTEMBER 2015.
8.  LOGISTICS AND EXPENDITURES. THE AMERICAN LEGION WILL PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR THE AWARD RECIPIENT ONLY (I.E., NOT TO INCLUDE SPOUSE OR GUEST) FROM WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES TO THE NATIONAL CONVENTION AND RETURN, AS WELL AS ACCOMMODATIONS AND MEALS. THE COMMANDER WILL CITE THIS MESSAGE AND THE AWARD RECIPIENT MARADMIN (ONCE RELEASED) AS REFERENCES TO ISSUE TEMPORARY ADDITIONAL DUTY ORDERS FOR AWARD RECIPIENT’S TRAVEL TO THE CONVENTION TO RECEIVE THE AWARD. 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, CONTACT MR. JOE MARCH OR MS. DEBRA MURRELL OF THE AMERICAN LEGION AT TEL: (317) 630-1253 OR VIA EMAIL: JMARCH(AT)LEGION.ORG, OR DMURRELL(AT)LEGION.ORG.9. RELEASE AUTHORIZED BY LIEUTENANT GENERAL JAMES B. LASTER, DIRECTOR, MARINE CORPS STAFF.//