Military Cross (Belgium)

Military Cross
Military Cross First Class
Awarded by Kingdom of Belgium
Type	Military decoration, with degrees 1st Class and 2nd Class
Eligibility	Commissioned Officers of the Belgian Armed Forces
Awarded for	Loyal and uninterrupted service.
Status	Currently awarded
Statistics
Established	11 February 1885
Precedence
Next (higher)	Military Decoration for exceptional action or for acts of bravery or devotion
Next (lower)	Military Decoration for Meritorious Service
Ribbon bar of the Military Cross First Class Ribbon bar of the Military Cross Second Class

The Military Cross (Dutch: Militaire Kruis, French: Croix Militaire) is a military long service decoration of Belgium. It was established by Royal Decree on 11 February 1885 and is awarded to commissioned officers in the Belgian Armed Forces for loyal and uninterrupted service. Approximately 300 Military Crosses are awarded annually.

The Military Cross is awarded in two classes to commissioned officers of the Belgian armed forces on the basis of their length of service:

Officers of the military reserve can also be awarded this decoration, on the condition that they participated in the yearly training period every year.

The Military Cross is a black enamelled Maltese cross with a 1mm gilt edge, the cross arms end in eight 2mm in diameter gilt spheres. Gilt crossed swords pointing up are positioned between the arms of the cross. The obverse central medallion bears the Belgian "lion rampant", pre 1952, the reverse medallion bore the royal cypher of the reigning monarch, post 1952, the reverse is identical to the obverse.

Suspension is by means of a ribbon through a suspension ring passing through the orb of a pivot mounted crown. The green silk moiré ribbon has two 5 mm wide red stripes set 1 mm from the ribbon's edges. The Military Cross First Class differs only from the second class award in the form of a rosette on the ribbon in the same colours as the ribbon.

The individuals listed below were awarded the Military Cross 1st class:

The individuals listed below were awarded the Military Cross 2nd class:

Other recipients include: