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.
Etymology Each military service issues its own version
of the Meritorious Unit Commendation. The United States Army version is typically referred
to as the "Meritorious Unit Commendation" while the other military branches use the
service name as a prefix. The Meritorious Unit Commendation is abbreviated as "MUC"
and pronounced as "MUCK." 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 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. The ribbon is awarded in the name of the Secretary of the Navy to
units of the U.S. Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard members
when operating as part of the U.S. Navy, such as Operation Market Time during the Vietnam
war. As a result of Operation Eldorado Canyon on 14-15 April 1986, Secretary of the Navy
John F. Lehman Jr. awarded the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation to the men and women of
a United States Air Force unit, the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, the "Statue of Liberty Wing,"
whose F-111 aircraft participated in the operation. This the only U.S. Air Force unit so awarded.
To be eligible for the award, the unit must have performed service of a character comparable
to that which would merit the award of a Bronze Star Medal in a combat situation, or achievement
of like caliber in a non-combat situation, to an individual.
The Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation ribbon ranks below the Navy Unit Commendation. Additional
awards of the ribbon are denoted by bronze and silver service stars.
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. Additional awards of the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
are denoted by gold 5/16 inch stars. The Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation may also
be awarded with the Operational Distinguishing Device, denoted by a 5/16 inch silver letter
"O" centered on the ribbon. In addition to Coast Guard units, the Commandant
of the Coast Guard has also periodically awarded the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
to warships, aviation squadrons and other selected units of the U.S. Navy, typically
for USN support to USCG-led counter-narcotics and drug interdiction operations in both the
Caribbean and off the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America and South America.
Air Force The Air Force version of the Meritorious Unit
Commendation is known as the Meritorious Unit Award. In March 2004, the Secretary of the
Air Force approved the ribbon to recognize organizations for outstanding achievement
or service in direct support of combat operations. The Meritorious Unit Award 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. Superior performance of normal mission will not alone justify award
of the ribbon. 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 ribbon is not awarded to any unit or unit component previously awarded the Air Force
Outstanding Unit Award, the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, or unit awards from other
service components for the same act, achievement, or service. The component commander will automatically
consider all disapproved Meritorious Unit Awards for the Air Force Outstanding Unit
Award. The Meritorious Unit Award is worn immediately
before the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. Subsequent awards of the ribbon are denoted
by bronze oak leaf clusters. See also
Awards and decorations of the United States military
Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force
Non-U.S. recipients of U.S. gallantry awards References