Decoration of Merit

Decoration of Merit
The silver Decoration of Merit with ribbon bars
Awarded by Netherlands Ministry of Defence
Type	Military decoration, with degrees gold and silver
Awarded for	See text
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
Established	16 April 1987
Precedence
Next (higher)	Medal of Recognition
Next (lower)	Cross for Important War Actions

The Decoration of Merit is an important military decoration for bravery in the Netherlands. The medal was established by the Dutch minister of defence, Wim van Eekelen, on 16 April 1987. The award was created by ministerial decree and is therefore a medal of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence and not a royal decoration.

Defence ministries in Germany and the Czech Republic award similar decorations. This way chivalric orders keep their exclusivity.

The ministerial decree requires four criteria for granting:

In 2002, minister Benk Korthals added a fifth criteria for granting the medal:

The award is granted in silver or gold.

The medal is the sixth highest military decoration, after the Medal of Recognition, still being awarded for bravery.

The medal has the shape of an old Dutch fortresses in the style that was introduced in the late 17th century by the Dutch fortress builder Menno van Coehoorn. The moat of the hexagonal fortresses has been reflected in blue emaille. In the middle of the depicted fortresses the symbols of three of the four branches of the Netherlands armed forces are displayed. These are the "climbing lion with sword and arrows" of the Royal Netherlands Army, the "anchor" of the Royal Netherlands Navy, and the "flying eagle" of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The "burning grenade", the symbol of the fourth branch, the Royal Marechaussee, is lacking. On the reverse side, the words "KONINKRIJK DER NEDERLANDEN" (English: Kingdom of the Netherlands) and "MINISTER VAN DEFENSIE" (English: Minister of Defence) are engraved in a circle.