Secretary of the Army Award for Valor

Secretary of the Army Award for Valor
Medal of the Secretary of the Army Award for Valor
Awarded by Department of the Army
Country  United States
Type Civilian honorary award
Eligibility Army civilian employees
Awarded for An act of heroism or sacrifice, with voluntary risk of personal safety in the face of danger either on or off the job.[1]
Statistics
Established 15 April 2002
Precedence
Equivalent Soldier's Medal
Related Secretary of Defense Medal for Valor

Ribbon bar of the medal

The Secretary of the Army Award for Valor was established 15 April 2002, to acknowledge acts of heroism or bravery connected with an Army employee or Army activity, or that in some way benefits the Army. The performance of the act must be evidenced by voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty. The equivalent military decoration for this award is the Soldier's Medal.[2]

Criteria

To be eligible for consideration for this award, the employee must have distinguished themselves by exhibiting great courage or sacrifice involving heroism or bravery. The performance of the act must be a voluntary action above and beyond the call of duty. The act may be recognized if it is connected with an Army employee or Army activity, or if the Army in some way benefits from the act. Awards will be made only to recognize single acts of heroism or bravery. This award is not presented in recognition of activities or conflict with an armed enemy. The situation must have involved personal hazard or danger and the voluntary risk of life. Awards are not made solely for saving a life.[3]

Appearance

The medal of the award is gold in color and 35 mm in diameter. The obverse depicts a five pointed star on top of a laurel wreath. At the top of the medal is inscribed "VALOR". The reverse of the medal has a small laurel wreath under a rectangular plate for engraving the recipient's name. The words “AWARDED TO” are inscribed above and parallel to the name plate. Below the plate are the words “FOR EXHIBITING BRAVERY”. The medal is suspended from a ribbon 35 mm, in width in old glory red. In the center of the ribbon are five stripes of ultramarine blue, separated by four stripes of white, the center blue stripe being wider than the others. This award has a neck drape or neck ribbon, similar to that of the Medal of Honor, and therefore is worn by the recipient in formal attire around the neck as the Medal of Honor. These are the only two American awards that are authorized a neck ribbon. [1]

Known Recipients

  • Michael G. Cahill, for courageous actions at the Fort Hood shooting 5 November 2009; presented posthumously on 5 November 2010.
  • Kimberly Munley, civilian police officer, wounded, and for valor at the Fort Hood shooting 5 November 2009; presented 5 November 2010.
  • Mark Todd, Sr., civilian police officer, for valorous actions at the Fort Hood shooting 5 November 2009; presented 5 November 2010.
  • Carl Marchlewicz, mechanical engineer, for bravery rescuing six children from a burning house on 7 May 2013; presented 6 May 2014.
  • William Allis, fireman, for actions in saving two people from drowning on 6 August 2013; presented 5 November 2014.
  • Sherman L. Fleek, Command Historian, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY, for bravery while disrupting an armed robbery at a restaurant on 31 May 2015; presented 25 May 2016 in the Pentagon.
  • Robert L. Henderson, Army Corps of Engineers Natural Resource Specialist (Park Ranger) for disrupting and preventing a potential active shooter situation at Lake O' the Pines, Jefferson, Texas on December 29, 2016; presented 25 October 2017.
  • Tanya C. Porter, Clinical Staff Nurse, U.S. Army Medical Command, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, for selfless service and personal courage treating wounded passengers and directly saving at least two lives during the 2017 Washington train derailment; presented 1 June 2018 at the Pentagon.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Secretary of the Army Award for Valor". Army Public Service Awards. The Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  2. ↑ "MER Memorandum: Sec Army Award for Valor". US Army Civilian Personnel Online. 29 August 2005. Retrieved 2011-07-10.
  3. ↑ "Secretary of the Army Award for Valor". US Army Civilian Personnel Online. 26 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-07-10.

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