The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is the highest award that is presented by the United States Secretary of Defense to a private citizen, politician, non-career federal employee, or foreign national. It is presented for exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department of Defense as a whole, or a DoD Component or function, where recognition at the component level would not be sufficient for the service rendered.
Eligibility
To be eligible for consideration the individual must have rendered exceptionally distinguished service of significance to the Department of Defense as a whole. Recognition may also be given for distinguished service of such exceptional significance to a Department of Defense Component or Function that recognition at the Component level would be insufficient. The service or assistance may have been rendered at considerable personal sacrifice and inconvenience and should be motivated by patriotism, good citizenship, and a sense of public responsibility.
Normally, it is required that nominees have a direct working relationship with the most senior officials in the Federal government, e.g., Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State.
An individual may receive this award more than once with subsequent awards consisting of a bronze, silver, or gold palm, respectively.
Description The award consists of a gold medal, a miniature medal, a rosette, and a citation signed by the Secretary of Defense.
The obverse of the medal depicts an eagle facing to the right clutching three arrows, below the eagle is a half laurel wreath. Above the eagle are thirteen stars with rays between the stars. This imagery is identical to the seal of the Department of Defense. The reverse contains the inscription "TO...FOR DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE". The edge of the medallion is surrounded by a laurel wreath on both the obverse and reverse. The medal is suspended from ribbon containing one central strip in maroon, with a white stripe on each side separating it from two blue stripes, with a thin white stripe at each edge.
Notable recipients Kelly Johnson, 1981 Joe Biden, 2025 Jill Biden, 2025 Madeleine Korbel Albright, 2016 Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, 2021 Avi Berkowitz, 2021 Ehud Barak, 2012 Zbigniew Brzezinski, 2016 George W. Bush, 2009 Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington Ash Carter, 2013 Bill Clinton, 2001 Hillary Clinton, 2013 Kristin Krohn Devold, 2006 Eric Fanning, 2017 Michèle Flournoy, 2012 Bob Hope, 1971 Robert Hunter, 1995 Jim Inhofe, 2022 Deborah Lee James, 2017 Jeh Johnson, 2016 Frank Kendall III, 2017 Henry Kissinger, 2016 Shigeru Kitamura, 2020 Michael Kratsios Jared Kushner, 2021 Marcel Lettre, 2017 Craig H. Martell, 2024 Michael J. McCord, 2017 John M. McHugh, 2015 Brian P. McKeon, 2017 Judith A. Miller Ernest Moniz, 2016 Jamie M. Morin, 2017 Robert O'Brien Barack Obama, 2017 Zohar Palti, 2022 DJ Patil, 2016 Edward Angus Powell Jr. Ronald Reagan, 1989 Paul Ryan, 2018 Dan Scavino, 2021 Eric Schmidt, 2017 Christopher Scolese, 2026 Brent Scowcroft, 2016 Javier Solana, 1999 Steven Spielberg, 1999 Jens Stoltenberg, 2024 John Warner, 2016 Kathryn Wheelbarger, 2020 Manfred Woerner, 1993 Albert Wohlstetter Robert O. Work, 2017 Lewis Greer Zirkle Jr., 2018
See also Awards and decorations of the United States government Navy Distinguished Public Service Award
References
External links Department of Defense-Level Honorary Awards Guide