The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States Armed Forces. It is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The degrees of Chief Commander, Commander, Officer, and Legionnaire are awarded only to members of armed forces of foreign nations. The degree of Officer is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a neck order.
About Legion of Merit in brief
The Legion of Merit is a military award of the United States Armed Forces. It is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The award is worn after the Defense Superior Service Medal and before the Distinguished Flying Cross. The degrees of Chief Commander, Commander, Officer, and Legionnaire are awarded only to members of armed forces of foreign nations under the criteria outlined in Army Regulation 672-7. On December 22, 2020, President Trump awarded the honour to three overseas political leaders, Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. In October 1942, Brazilian Army Brigadier General Amaro Bittencourt became the first person to be awarded the award in the degree of Legionnaire. In addition to the degrees, it is the only U.S. military decoration that may be issued in degrees, although the degrees including a neck ribbon are only awarded to non-U. S. nationals.
Unlike the Legion of Honor, however, the award is only awards to military personnel and not to citizens of the country of the award’s origin. The criteria are: ‘for exceptionally meritors conduct in the performance.’ The degrees and the design of the decoration were influenced by the French Legion of Honour. The medal was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 40, dated August 5, 1942. It was established by Executive Order 9260, dated October 29, 1942, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and required the President’s approval for the award. The degree of Officer is one of only two United States military decorations to be issued as a neck order, and the only United States decoration that can be awarded in multiple degrees. In contemporary use in the U. s. Armed Forces, the Legion is typically awarded to Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force general officers and colonels, and Navy and Coast Guard flag officers and captains occupying senior command or very senior staff positions in their respective services.
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This page is based on the article Legion of Merit published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 25, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
