Air Force Achievement Medal

Achievement Medal
Five different versions of the Achievement Medal are awarded: one for Joint Service, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard
Awarded by United States Department of Defense
Type	Medal (decoration)
Eligibility	Military personnel only
Awarded for	"Meritorious service or achievement in either combat or noncombat situations based on sustained performance or specific achievement of a superlative nature but which does not warrant a Commendation Medal or higher."
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
Established	U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps (1961) U.S. Coast Guard (1963) U.S. Army (1981) U.S. Air Force (1981) U.S. Joint Service (1983)
Precedence
Next (higher)	Commendation Medals
Next (lower)	Navy and Marine Corps: Combat Action Ribbon Army: Prisoner of War Medal Air Force: Combat Action Medal Coast Guard: Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon
Service ribbons for the Joint Service, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Achievement Medals

The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize the contributions of junior officers and enlisted personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher Commendation Medal or the Meritorious Service Medal.

Each military service issues its own version of the Achievement Medal, with a fifth version authorized by the U.S. Department of Defense for joint military activity. The Achievement Medal is awarded for outstanding achievement or meritorious service not of a nature that would otherwise warrant awarding the Commendation Medal. Since the Achievement Medal is designated as an award solely for junior personnel, it is generally only awarded to officers in the pay grade of O-4 and below and enlisted personnel below the grade of E-7. Award authority rests with local commanders, granting a broad discretion of when and for what action the Achievement Medal may be awarded.

The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM), is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' version of the Achievement Medal. The United States Navy was the first branch of the United States Armed Forces to award such a medal, doing so in 1961, when it was dubbed the “Secretary of the Navy Commendation for Achievement Medal”. This title was shortened in 1967 to simply, the "Navy Achievement Medal". On 19 August 1994, to recognize those of the United States Marine Corps who had received the Navy Achievement Medal, the name of the decoration was officially changed to the "Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal". The award is referred to in shorthand speech as a "NAM."

From its inception in the early 1960s to 2002, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal could not be approved by the commanding officers of ships, submarines, aviation squadron, or shore activities who held the rank of Commander (O-5). Awards for crewmembers had to be submitted to the Commodore or Air Wing Commander or the first appropriate O-6 in the chain of command for approval, who then signed the award and returned it. This led to a dramatically lower awarding rate when compared to similar size units in the Army or Air Force awarding their own achievement medals, especially considering that those services did not establish their respective achievement medals until the 1980s. Since 2002 the commanding officers of aviation squadrons and ships have had the authority to award NAMs without submission to higher authority. For the Army, battalion commanders (or the first O-5 in a soldier's chain of command) is the approving authority for the Army Achievement Medal.