Meritorious Unit Commendation
Encyclopedia
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions.

Each military service issues its own version of the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 version is typically referred to as the "Meritorious Unit Commendation" while the other military branches use the service name as a prefix (for example Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation). The Meritorious Unit Commendation is abbreviated (and often pronounced) as "MUC."

Army

The Meritorious Unit Commendation emblem worn to represent award of the Meritorious Unit Commendation is 1 7/16 inches wide and 9/16 inch in height. The emblem consists of a 1/16 inch wide Gold frame with laurel leaves which encloses a Scarlet 67111 ribbon. The previously authorized emblem was a Gold color embroidered laurel wreath, 1 5/8 inches in diameter on a 2 inches square of Olive Drab cloth.
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during the period of military operations against an armed enemy occurring on or after 1 January 1944. Service in a combat zone is not required, but must be directly related to the combat effort. CONUS based units are excluded from this award as are other units outside the area of operation. The unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

 to an individual. Only in rare cases will a unit larger than a battalion qualify for award of this commendation. For services performed during World War II, awards will be made only to service units and only for services performed between 1 January 1944 and 15 September 1946. Effective 1 March 1961, the Meritorious Unit Commendation was authorized for units and/or detachments of the Armed Forces of the United States for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months in support of military operations. Such service is interpreted to relate to combat service support type activities and not to the type of activities performed by senior headquarters, combat, or combat support units.

The Meritorious Service Unit Plaque was established by War Department Circular No. 345, dated 23 August 1944. The circular provided that military personnel assigned or attached to an organization were entitled to wear the Meritorious Service Unit Insignia on the outside half of the right sleeve of the service coat and shirt, four inches above the end of the sleeve. Additional awards were to be indicated by a gold star to be placed on the plaque. War Department Circular No. 54, 1946, provided that additional awards would be indicated by placing a golden numeral inside the wreath.

In April 1947, the Army approved a new design of the Meritorious Service Unit emblem that replaced the sleeve insignia and on 16 May 1947, announced the Meritorious Unit Commendation, provided for wearing of the Meritorious Unit Commendation emblem, and provided for the display of the Meritorious Unit Commendation streamer, which was scarlet with the name of the applicable theater of operations in white letters.

The emblem is worn by all members of a cited organization and is considered an individual award for persons in connection with the cited acts and may be worn whether or not they continue as members of the organization. Other personnel may wear this award while serving with an organization to indicate the unit has been awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation.

On 11 April 1949, TAG advised D/PA that the stock position was such that it would not be exhausted prior to 1959. By Comment 2, 1 March 1960, DCSPER stated that for planning purposes the new Meritorious Service Unit emblem would be authorized for wear on or after 1 January 1961, with wear of the old one prohibited for wear after 30 June 1962. However, the stock level was still so high that it was not introduced into the supply system until 14 July 1966.

Navy and Marine Corps

The Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy on July 17, 1967. It is awarded in the name of the Secretary of the Navy to units of both the U.S. Navy and United States Marines. To justify this award, the unit must have performed service of a character comparable to that which would merit the award of a Bronze Star Medal
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

, or achievement of like caliber in a non-combat situation, to an individual.

The Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ranks below the Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...

. Additional awards are denoted by bronze and silver service star
Service star
A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...

s.

Air Force

The Air Force version of the Meritorious Unit Commendation is known as the Meritorious Unit Award (MUA). In March 2004, the Secretary of the Air Force approved the MUA to recognize organizations for outstanding achievement or service in direct support of combat operations.

The MUA is awarded to Air Force units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding achievement or service in direct support of combat operations for at least 90 continuous days during the period of military operations against an armed enemy of the United States on or after September 11, 2001. The unit must have displayed such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

. Superior performance of normal mission will not alone justify award of the MUA. Service in a combat zone is not required, but service must be directly related to the combat effort. Squadrons, groups, and wings may be recommended for this award. The MUA is not awarded to any unit or unit component previously awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA), the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award (AFOEA) or unit awards from other service components for the same act, achievement, or service. The component commander will automatically consider all disapproved MUAs for the AFOUA.

The MUA ribbon is worn immediately before the AFOUA. Subsequent awards are denoted by oak leaf clusters
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...

.

Coast Guard

The Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation was established in November 1973 and is awarded in the name of the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

. Additional awards of the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation are denoted by gold award stars. The Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation may also be awarded with the Operational Distinguishing Device
Operational Distinguishing Device
The Operational Distinguishing Device is a decoration of the United States Coast Guard which may be awarded as an attachment to certain personal and unit awards. The device is awarded as a silver "O" device, either centered on the award ribbon or to the middle-right if there are an even number of...

.

See also

  • Awards and decorations of the United States military
    Awards and decorations of the United States military
    Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces...

  • Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force
    Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force
    Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force are military decorations which are issued by the Department of the Air Force to Air Force service members and members of other military branches serving under Air Force commands...

  • Non-U.S. recipients of U.S. gallantry awards
    Non-U.S. recipients of U.S. gallantry awards
    -Individual Awards for Valor:Other than the awards to unknown soldiers of World War I, the Medal of Honor, the highest United States valor decoration, has not been awarded to a non-U.S. recipient. The highest valor decoration which non-U.S. individuals may receive is the service crosses of the...

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