The Meritorious Service Medal 1991-2016 CONTACT US Directorate of Honours and Recognition National Defence Headquarters 101 Colonel By Drive Ottawa, ON K1A 0K2 http://forces.gc.ca/en/honours-history-awards/index.page 1-877-741-8332 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2016 A-DH-300-000/JD-006 Cat. No D2-364/2016 ISBN 978-0-660-05799-6 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, wearing her insignia of Sovereign of the Order of Canada and of the Order of Military Merit, in the Tent Room at Rideau Hall, Canada Day 2010 Photo: Canadian Heritage, 1 July 2010 iv | The Meritorious Service Medal Dedication To the recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal who have demonstrated military professionalism and brought honour upon themselves and their nation. v | The Meritorious Service Medal Table of Contents Dedication ......................................................................................................................... v Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................... 7 Meritorious Service Decorations Regulations, 2015 ................................................. 35 Register – Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division), 1991-2016 ...................................................................................... 45 Glossary of Post-nominals .......................................................................................... 168 Related Publications.................................................................................................... 169 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 170 vi | The Meritorious Service Medal Introduction In order to highlight the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division) (MSM) by Her Majesty The Queen, the Directorate of Honours & Recognition (DH&R) has produced this commemorative document. This initiative is a complement to the book entitled The Meritorious Service Cross, 1984-2014, published by DH&R in 2014 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the creation of that decoration. That first publication outlines in detail the history of the development and evolution of the decoration as well as details related to the insignia. It also explains the creation of the MSM as a decoration junior to the Meritorious Service Cross (MSC). The present work, aside from the following brief outline, will not repeat the history recounted in the previous publication but will focus instead on providing a statistical analysis of the awards of the MSM in the Military Division and provide a register of the names and citations of the 825 recipients of this honour in its first quarter of a century of history. While Canadian military personnel received recognition for military merit through the British Honours System from the time of Confederation to the Korean War, Canadian government policy towards honours meant this system gradually Insignia of fell into disuse in this country from 1953 to Member of the mid-1960s. This left no tangible means to the Order of recognize military merit for members of Canada’s Military Merit armed forces. The Order of Canada, created on (by Spink & Son) the occasion of the Centennial of Confederation Photo: DH&R / DDHR in 1967, was initially intended to recognize both civil and military achievements but the limited numbers meant that very few members of the military could be so recognized. The creation of the Order of Military Merit five years later provided a partial solution but, like the Order of Canada, it was intended to recognize long-term merit as opposed The Meritorious to specific actions. The MSC was created in 1984 Service Cross specifically to recognize “short-term outstanding (Military achievement”. This honour was intended to Division) remain rare and it quickly became obvious that Photo: DH&R / DHHR 1 | The Meritorious Service Medal it lacked flexibility to recognize the various degrees of merit demonstrated by members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). As early as June 1987, the military authorities considered it was necessary to create a junior version of the MSC to fill the gap between this prestigious and rare decoration and the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation, a departmental award created in 1974 to recognize “deeds or activities beyond the demand of normal duty”. Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation insignia Photo: DH&R / DDHR The solution took the form of the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) which, along with a new Civil Division for both the MSC and MSM, was created by Her Majesty The Queen on 6 June 1991, forming a new family of honours called the Meritorious Service Decorations (MSDs). Her Majesty’s signature on the approved designs of the expanded Meritorious Service Decorations in 1991 Photo: DH&R / DDHR 2 | The Meritorious Service Medal The Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division) recognizes the performance of a military deed or a military activity in a highly professional manner or of a very high standard that brings considerable benefit or honour to the Canadian Armed Forces. The Meritorious The Meritorious The Meritorious The Meritorious Service Cross Service Cross Service Medal Service Medal (Military (Civilian (Military (Civilian Division) division) division) division) Photo: DH&R / DHHR Photo: DH&R / DDHR Photo: DH&R / DDHR Photo: DH&R / DDHR The reverse The reverse of the of the Meritorious Meritorious Service Cross Service Medal Photo: DH&R / DHHR Photo: DH&R / DHHR 3 | The Meritorious Service Medal The MSDs can honour either a single achievement or an activity over a specified period, while the Order of Military Merit focuses on long-term achievement. There is no annual limit or allocation for these decorations, which are intended to be the workhorse of the merit recognition system and recognize one specific act or meritorious service performed over a specific period of time, be it a few minutes, days, a project, an operational rotation or a whole posting. The awards are not reserved for operational or overseas service and the level of award (Cross or Medal) is not linked to the rank or level of responsibility of the nominee, the MSM lapel pin for wear in civilian degree of merit and scope of the achievement attire when medals are not worn being the only factors. The criteria for each Photo: DH&R / DDHR decoration are simple and flexible allowing the recognition of a wide array of achievements by military personnel at all levels and in all fields. The MSDs may be awarded to members of allied forces and may be awarded posthumously. Nominations should be made especially for individuals who demonstrate either: • outstanding performance out of trade, rank and experience; • outstanding performance in trade, rank and experience but performed under exceptional or difficult conditions; or • performance which has an international flavour or effect. Nominations must be submitted through the chain of command and reach DH&R within five years of the date of the incident or the end of the service cited. The files are considered by the Canadian Forces Decorations Advisory Committee (CFDAC), chaired by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS). The CDS then makes recommendations to the Governor General who approves the awards on behalf of Her Majesty through an Instrument. The Governor General then invests the recipients with their decoration at formal ceremonies generally held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa or at La Citadelle in Quebec City. CFDAC generally meets every two months except in summer but more meetings can be held when the number of cases justifies it. For example, the Committee met monthly at the height of the Afghanistan Campaign. Besides the CDS, who acts as Chair, membership of CFDAC includes the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, the Commanders of the Royal Canadian 4 | The Meritorious Service Medal Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force as well as a representative of the Governor General who is a senior official from the Chancellery of Honours at Government House. Over its first 25 years of existence, the MSM has revealed its usefulness as a flexible and efficient form of recognition for short-term merit. Its recipients have demonstrated great professionalism and represent an example for others to follow. The MSM has been awarded to nearly every rank of the CAF, to countless branches and trades, to young and not so young recipients and it has recognized a wide variety of The modern award certificate achievements. It can only be expected that the of the MSM CAF will build upon an already rich tradition of Photo: DH&R / DDHR merit recognition over the coming decades. Cover of the official register for the Meritorious Service Decorations Photo: Sgt Ronald Duchesne 5 | The Meritorious Service Medal Statistical Analysis statistical analysis of the 825 MSMs awarded from the creation of the decoration in 1991 to its 25th anniversary on 6 June 2016 has A been conducted and the findings are discussed below by topic. Where appropriate, updated statistics for the MSC have also been included to complement those provided in the 2014 publication dedicated to that decoration. Number of Awards A total of 225 MSCs and 825 MSMs have been awarded in the Military Division since the creation of these decorations in 1984 and 1991 respectively. The number of