Posted on Aug 23, 2018
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Looking to create a wall of fame for all the service members in my wife's and my own family - about 12. I was going to display a picture, rank as well interesting award with the citation. In going through my father's war chest I found an old National Security Medal. As such I was wanting to get the citation for the award. Looking for advice in how to go about getting the citation.
Awards
National Security
Ribbons
Records
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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You probably won't find a citation for a medal unless comments were required to justify the award. A lot of service medals are simply awarded for complying with certain criteria. GWOT, GCM, Southwest Asia, are examples of that. Even some "participation" awards don't get citiations. One example is Humanitarian Service. If you were involved in a larger effort, like disaster relief, that participation is enough to justify without any written description of your specific effort.
If you can't find a specific citation document for your board, perhaps you can, instead, write your own summary of the event that lead to the metal. For example, "while deployed for Operation Provide Comfort, SGT Snuffy was involved in the effort to improve an airfield needed to bring in valuable aid and supplies to the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq
If you can't find a specific citation document for your board, perhaps you can, instead, write your own summary of the event that lead to the metal. For example, "while deployed for Operation Provide Comfort, SGT Snuffy was involved in the effort to improve an airfield needed to bring in valuable aid and supplies to the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq
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Suspended Profile
I was given a 9-11 medal by a Police Dept.
SSG Sofia Cardenas
All awards will have an award number which may include a list of personnel authorized for that award. Example: I was sent with some of my unit to Guatemala in a Humanitarian capacity after Hurricane Mitch and was awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal as well as the Overseas Training Ribbon (Reserves Ribbon). For both the Medal and Ribbon there is an award letter with a list of all the personnel authorized to wear the award. Also, there is no citation just a standard blip on the award letter.
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LTC Jason Mackay
1SG (Join to see) - my HSM for Sandy is on a memo from a one star that did all those involved from our installation. But SSG Sofia Cardenas , SFC Squires is correct in that campaign type decorations are not accompanied by anything other than a pat on the back. Your orders to the theater and manefests might be the only supporting documentation, or an evaluation, or another's award set of orders might be it. You are correct in the case of individual awards such as AAM and above. They will be issued with a Permanent Order number on the 638 and the certificate. That was not always that way. It's a spoda bee. It's supposed to be on there, but it is hit or miss prior to 2003.
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Contact the public affairs officer for the agency he was working for when he got it. They can certainly put you in touch with the right point of contact.
If they don't, another possibility would be a FOIA request to the same agency.
One thing to keep in mind though is that, given the nature of what some National Security Medals are awarded for, they might not be able to give you a copy of the citation, or might have to redact enough of it to render it pointless.
If they don't, another possibility would be a FOIA request to the same agency.
One thing to keep in mind though is that, given the nature of what some National Security Medals are awarded for, they might not be able to give you a copy of the citation, or might have to redact enough of it to render it pointless.
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LCDR Robert S.
Another thing to keep in mind on the FOIA is that anything you *do* get that's redacted *might* have declassification dates on it. So you know when to submit a new FOIA request and can submit it with a copy of the original document, requesting the *now declassified* non-redacted version of *this document*.
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LTC Jason Mackay
SPC David S. - due to the unique nature of this medal, LCDR Robert S. probably has the best tac on this. I would go the PAO route first. PAOs are usually very helpful.
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SPC David S.
LTC Jason Mackay - After a little more digging this is what I do know - my father was in the Navy (DD-214) at the time and in Vietnam or in the AOO before the war. His eval reports in his personnel folder for this time just state special projects however I'm not sure if that is normal.
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LCDR Robert S.
SPC David S. - Evals never include classified information, so "special projects" is a way of saying "he was working on something that we can't mention in an unclassified document.
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