Navy Expeditionary Medal

Navy Expeditionary Medal
Navy Expeditionary Medal
Type	Medal
Awarded for	Landed on foreign territory and engaged in operations against armed opposition, or operated under circumstances which, after full consideration, shall be deemed to merit special recognition and for which service no campaign medal has been awarded.
Presented by	the Department of the Navy
Eligibility	US Navy officers and enlisted
Clasps	Wake Island
Status	Currently Awarded
Established	August 5, 1936
First awarded	12 Feb 1874 (Retroactive) (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands)
Last awarded	15 Dec 2002
	Service ribbon
Precedence
Next (higher)	U.S. Navy - Fleet Marine Force Ribbon; U.S. Marine Corps - Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal
Equivalent	U.S. Marine Corps - Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
Next (lower)	China Service Medal
Related	Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936.

Award criteria[]

The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to the officers and enlisted men of the Navy who shall have actually landed on foreign territory and engaged in operations against armed opposition, or operated under circumstances which, after full consideration, shall be deemed to merit special recognition and for which service no campaign medal has been awarded. The Navy Expeditionary Medal is retroactively authorized to February 12, 1874."

Design[]

The medal was designed by A. A. Weinman and features a sailor beaching a craft carrying Marines, an officer, and a US flag with the word "Expeditions" above. On the reverse of both the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal and Navy Expeditionary Medal, in the center of the bronze medallion an eagle is shown alight upon an anchor; the eagle is facing to the left and the flukes of the anchor are to the right. The eagle is grasping sprigs of laurel, which extend beyond the anchor in both directions. Above the eagle are the words UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS or UNITED STATES NAVY presented as an arch. Above the laurel are the words FOR SERVICE presented horizontally. The eagle is the American bald eagle and represents the United States, the anchor alludes to Marine Corps or Navy service, and the laurel is symbolic of victory and achievement.

Marine Corps eligibility[]

The medal is one of the few Navy awards which is not concurrently bestowed to the United States Marine Corps, as Marine Corps personnel are eligible for the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal as an equivalent award. In addition, since 1961, some Navy commands have permitted service members to choose between the Navy Expeditionary Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for participation in certain operations. Both awards may not be bestowed simultaneously for the same action.^[3]^[4]

Additional awards[]

Additional awards of the Navy Expeditionary Medal are denoted by service stars.

Wake Island Device[]

The Wake Island Device is authorized for those service members who were awarded the Navy Expeditionary Medal through the defense of Wake Island.^[5] As the vast majority of the defenders of Wake Island were U.S. Marines, the Navy Expeditionary Medal with the Wake Island device is one of the rarest awards in the U.S. military history, with only 68 eligible recipients.

Classified operations[]

Under the “deemed to merit special recognition and for which service no campaign medal has been awarded“ clause, both the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal (MCEM) and Navy Expeditionary Medal (NEM) have been awarded for classified operations with proper adjudication by the Secretary of the Navy Special Awards Board. The MCEM and NEM "can be authorized and awarded to individuals or units who have participated in classified operations not necessarily in connection with larger operations in which the public is aware.” The SECNAV INSTRUCTION 1650.1H - NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS MANUAL details the process via the Special Awards Board for issuing classified awards. Anecdotal reports from former service members cite a wide variety of classified operations for which the MCEM and NEM have reportedly been awarded, ranging from Marine Corps units clandestinely deployed in Africa, to helicopter gun-crews or force protection units assisting SEAL-DEVGRU or Delta Force teams worldwide, and even classified submarine operations during the Cold War. In cases where the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal or Navy Expeditionary Medal has been awarded for classified operations, the name of the operation is omitted from public documentation including from the individual service member’s DD214 personnel record with only the name of the award and issue date provided.

Stolen Valor[]

Both the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal (MCEM) and Navy Expeditionary Medal (NEM) have been fraudulently worn by military service members convicted under the UCMJ and civilians fraudulently claiming to have been awarded the MCEM or NEM along with other medals such as the Purple Heart (see Stolen Valor Act for applicable criminal legislation). It has been widely reported that L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, fraudulently claimed being awarded the Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal.^{[citation needed]}

The issuance of military awards is available via a public records search and from lists of authorized recipients available online. In recent years, a number of television news crews have confronted people fraudulently wearing military awards and “Stolen Valor” websites publicly shame those who fraudulently wear or claim military awards and will notify federal law enforcement when they believe the activity rises to the level of a crime such as fraud for profit-or-gain, falsely receiving veterans services, falsifying a federal document such as the DD214, or violation of the Stolen Valor Act.

References[]

^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2018-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ End date for Operation Determined Response (for forces involved in the response to the USS Cole bombing and subsequent investigation in Yemen). This is the most recent public awarding. The dates of awardings for any classified operations are not public knowledge
^ "HISTORY OF COMBAT SERVICE INSIGNIAS" (PDF). AIR FORCE ENLISTED HERITAGE RESEARCH INSTITUTE. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-30.
^ Navy and marine corps awards manual, secnavinst 1650.1 series
^ "Service Medals and Campaign Credit of the United States Navy, Navy Expeditionary Medal". History.navy.mil. Retrieved 28 September 2018.

[1] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2018-01-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] End date for Operation Determined Response (for forces involved in the response to the USS Cole bombing and subsequent investigation in Yemen). This is the most recent public awarding. The dates of awardings for any classified operations are not public knowledge

[3] "HISTORY OF COMBAT SERVICE INSIGNIAS" (PDF). AIR FORCE ENLISTED HERITAGE RESEARCH INSTITUTE. 29 August 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-30.

[4] Navy and marine corps awards manual, secnavinst 1650.1 series

[5] "Service Medals and Campaign Credit of the United States Navy, Navy Expeditionary Medal". History.navy.mil. Retrieved 28 September 2018.

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show v t United States campaign, expeditionary, and service medals
1862–1906	Civil War Campaign Medal Indian Campaign Medal Dewey Medal Sampson Medal Cardenas Medal of Honor West Indies Campaign Medal Spanish Campaign Medal Spanish War Service Medal Army of Cuban Occupation Medal Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal Philippine Campaign Medal Philippine Congressional Medal
1905–1921	China Campaign Medal Navy Cuban Pacification Medal Navy Nicaraguan Campaign Medal Haitian Campaign Medal Dominican Campaign Medal
1911–1941	Mexican Service Medal Mexican Border Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Texas Cavalry Medal Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
1936–1945	Navy Expeditionary Medal Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal Haitian Campaign Medal NC-4 Medal Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal Yangtze Service Medal Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal United States Antarctic Expedition Medal
1942–1949	China Service Medal American Defense Service Medal Women's Army Corps Service Medal American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal (Navy) Medal for Humane Action
1953–1999	National Defense Service Medal Korean Service Medal Antarctica Service Medal Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Kosovo Campaign Medal Armed Forces Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
2003–present	Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korea Defense Service Medal Air and Space Campaign Medal Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal Remote Combat Effects Campaign Medal

show v t Awards and decorations of the United States Department of the Navy
Personal decorations	Navy Cross Navy Distinguished Service Navy and Marine Corps Medal Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Combat Action
Unit awards	Presidential Unit Citation Navy Unit Commendation Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Navy E Ribbon
Good Conduct medals	Navy Good Conduct Marine Corps Good Conduct Selected Marine Corps Reserve
Expeditionary medals	Navy Expeditionary Marine Corps Expeditionary
Service ribbon awards	Sea Service Naval Reserve Sea Service Arctic Service Antarctica Service Overseas Service Navy Recruiting Service Marine Corps Recruiting Service Navy Accession Training Service Ribbon Marine Corps Drill Instructor Marine Corps Security Guard Marine Corps Combat Instructor Navy Ceremonial Duty Navy Basic Military Training Honor Graduate
Marksmanship	Navy Expert Rifleman Medal Navy Sharpshooter Rifle Ribbon Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal Navy Sharpshooter Pistol Shot Ribbon Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon