U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal, complete with miniature and bar

Bronze, stamping, enamel, gilding. An infrequent set consisting directly of the medal itself, the strap to it and a miniature version. The medal is a gold relief image of the national emblem of the United States in the center of a dark blue enamel ring with an inscription in gold letters along the circumference "FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE 1918" (eng. FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MCMXVIII). The diameter of the medal is 1 ½ inches (about 38 mm). On the reverse of the award, in the center is a scroll on top of banners and weapons, designed to engrave the name of the awarded serviceman. With the help of a curly bar, the medal is connected to a rectangular block covered with a ribbon of the award. Guarantee of authenticity.

The US Army Distinguished Service Medal is a personal military award of the US Army, the second most senior award of the US Army. The award is included in the group of equivalent awards — medals "For Outstanding Service" of the US Department of Defense and the Armed Forces, which occupies the third place in the general system of seniority of US military awards. The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to persons serving in the U.S. Army in any position whose service during the performance of duties related to high responsibility has been assessed as outstanding.

The award was established by order of the President of the United States on January 2 , 1918 .. In the order of the Ministry of War No. 6 of January 12, 1918, the statute of the new award was set out "for military personnel whose service during the performance of government service duties associated with high responsibility was assessed as outstanding." By an Act of the US Congress dated July 9, 1918, the award was finally formalized. The statute of the award assumed that the award of the medal "For Outstanding Service" could be made only for outstanding deeds committed after the entry of the United States into World War I, that is, starting from April 6, 1917 (as of April 7, 1923, the medal "For Outstanding Service" was awarded to 1881 participants in World War I), but in practice, awards were received by participants in the Indian wars and campaigns of 1871-1917. In total, about 5,000 awards were made by 1975. Six officers were awarded five times (this is the largest number of repeated awards of the Army Medal "For Outstanding Service"): Creighton Abrams, William E. DePuy, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Joseph McNarney and Bruce Palmer, Jr.

The medal "For Outstanding Service" is often called the "award for generals and colonels." Indeed, out of 3,848 awards to Army servicemen made by 1975, 3,192 awards (83%) were made to senior officers in the rank from army general to colonel. This is due to the fact that it is the service of senior and senior officers that most often implies "performing duties associated with high responsibility" stipulated in the statute of the award.

The award of the U.S. Army Medal "For Outstanding Service" is made on behalf of the President of the United States. The award decision is approved in peacetime by the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, during the war - by the Secretary of State of the U.S. Army. The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded to persons serving in the U.S. Army in any position whose service during the performance of duties related to high responsibility has been assessed as outstanding. Only outstanding performance of special tasks can be awarded, outstanding performance of ordinary, ordinary duties in itself cannot serve as a basis for awarding the medal "For Outstanding Service". For non-combat service, the concept of "duties associated with high responsibility" is interpreted more narrowly than in the case of wartime service: significant achievements must be clearly and unconditionally demonstrated in peacetime. Persons serving in other types of the US Armed Forces can be awarded the Army Medal "For Outstanding Service" only in wartime, in which case special approval of the award from the US President is required[7]. During the war, military personnel of foreign countries, civilians, including foreigners, can also be awarded the US Army Medal "For Outstanding Service".