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National Defence Medal
National Defence Medal
	National Defence Medal, Gold grade (obverse)
Type	Medal with three classes (Gold, Silver and Bronze)
Awarded for	Particularly honorable service rendered to the French military; Valor not involving combat with the enemy
Presented by	France
Eligibility	French citizens and foreign nationals
Status	Currently awarded
Established	21 April 1982
Precedence
Next (higher)	Overseas Medal
Next (lower)	Medal for voluntary military service

The National Defence Medal (French: "Médaille de la Défense nationale") is a French military decoration. It was created by Charles Hernu, Minister of Defence and established by decree on 21 April 1982. It rewards particularly honourable service rendered by military personnel for their participation in operational activities. The medal has three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.^[1]

Eligibility

For military service

The award is made by decision of the military hierarchy, but the recipients must have achieved a personal minimum of:

For the Bronze level: 1 year of service and accumulated 90 points;
For the Silver level: 5 years of service (minimum 2 years in the Bronze level) and accumulated 600 points;
For the Gold level: 10 years of service (minimum 2 years in the Silver grade) and accumulated 800 points^[1]

The yearly quota of Gold and Silver level awards are set by the minister of defence. Points are earned through participation in exercises, operations, proficiency, initiative, awards received, etc.^[1] People who had been awarded the Légion d'honneur or the Ordre national du Mérite can not receive the National Defence Medal.

Exceptional circumstances

The medal can be awarded in any one of the three levels to:

Military personnel on active duty or in reserves and civilians killed or injured in the line of duty;
Active military or reservists which have distinguished themselves by the quality of their service;
French civilians and foreign military personnel or civilians who have rendered honourable services particularly important to the defence of France^[1]

Mention in Dispatches

When an individual is mentioned in dispatches (citation dans les ordres) for heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. He or she is awarded the Médaille de la Défense Nationale at the Gold level, adorned with a ribbon device (bronze, silver, silver gilt star or bronze palm) depending on the level (regiment, brigade, division, army) of the mention, in the same manner as for the Croix de Guerre.^[1]

Award description

Medal and ribbon

The National Defence Medal is a 36 mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze, the gold level is gilt, the silver award is silvered. The obverse bears the relief image of Rude's Marseillaise with the relief inscription along the upper circumference "FRENCH REPUBLIC" (French: RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE). The reverse bears the relief image of a Phrygian cap over a laurel branch and the inscription along the medal circumference in the upper half "ARMY" and "NATION", in the lower half "NATIONAL DEFENSE" (French: "ARMÉE" "NATION" "DÉFENSE NATIONALE"), the upper and lower inscriptions being separated by a relief five pointed star on each side^[1]

The medal hangs from a ring through the medal's suspension loop. The bronze grade award's ribbon is a 36 mm wide red silk moiré ribbon with a 12 mm wide central blue stripe. The ribbon for the silver grade award is similar with the addition of 3 mm wide white edge stripes, the edge stripes are yellow for the gold grade award^[1]

Gold grade obverse & ribbon	Silver grade obverse & ribbon	Bronze grade obverse & ribbon	Gold grade for mentions in dispatches obverse & ribbon	Gold grade reverse & ribbon


With clasps: AIR FORCE and INTERSERVICES POST	With clasps: FRENCH NAVY and SUBMARINES	With clasp: AIRBORNE TROOPS	With palm for an Army level citation	Common reverse for all grades

Clasps

Admiral Édouard Guillaud, a recipient of the Bronze grade of the National Defense Medal

Multiple specialty and geographical clasps are allowed for wear on the ribbon, each grade being allowed a single clasp up to a maximum of three.^[1] As of 29 January 2021 the following clasps are awarded:^[2]

Geographical clasps

Corps européen (European Corps)
Force océanique stratégique (Strategic Oceanic Force)
Missions d'opérations extérieures (Foreign operational missions)
Missions d'opérations intérieures (Domestic operational missions)
Mururoa-Hao (Moruroa-Hao)
Terres australes et antarctiques (Southern and Antarctic lands)
Essais Nucléaires (Nuclear Testing)

Speciality clasps

Armée de l'air (Air Force)
Défense aérienne (Air defense)
Soutien des forces aériennes (Air Force support command)
Forces aériennes (Air Forces Command)
Forces aériennes stratégiques (Strategic Air Forces Command)
Génie de l'air (Air Force engineers)
Espace (French Space Command)
Service d'infrastructure de la défense (Defence Infrastructure Service)
Interarmées (Joint forces)
Service du commissariat des armées (Armed Forces Commissariat Service)
Journée défense et citoyenneté (Defence and Citizenship Day)
Armée de terre (Army)
Arme blindée et cavalerie (Armoured Cavalry)
Artillerie (Artillery)
Aviation légère (Light Aviation)
Génie (Military engineers)
Infanterie (Infantry)
Légion étrangère (Foreign Legion)
Troupes de marine (Marine troops)
Matériel (Matériel)
Sapeurs-pompiers (Paris Fire Brigade)
Sécurité civile (Civil Defence)
Transmissions (Signal Corps)
Train (Logistics and transportation)
Troupes aéroportées (Airborne troops)
Troupes de montagne (Mountain troops)
Armement (Weapons)
Industrie de défense (Defence Industry)
Défense
État-major (General staff)
Gendarmerie nationale (National Gendarmerie)
Écoles de gendarmerie (Gendarmerie schools)
Formations aériennes de la gendarmerie (National Gendarmerie air units)
Garde républicaine (Republican Guard)
Gendarmerie de la sécurité des armements nucléaires (Nuclear Weapons Security Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie de l'air (Air Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie de l'armement (Armement Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie départementale (Departmental Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie des transports aériens (Air Transport Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie d'outre-mer (Overseas Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie maritime (Maritime Gendarmerie)
Gendarmerie mobile (Mobile Gendarmerie)
Justice militaire (Military justice)
Marine nationale (Navy)
Aéronautique navale (Naval Aviation)
Bâtiments de combat (Warships)
Fusiliers marins (Naval Infantry)
Marins pompiers (Marseille Naval Fire Battalion)
Nageurs de combat (Combat swimmer)
Plongeurs démineurs (Clearance diver)
Sous-marins (Submarines)
Poste interarmées (Military postal service)
Service de santé (Defence Health Service)
Service des essences (Military Fuel Service)
Cyber (Cyber Defence Command)
Musique

Obsolete clasps

Forces françaises stationnées en Allemagne
Missions d'assistance extérieure
Commissariat armée de terre
Force Aérienne Tactique
Fusiliers Commandos de l'Air
Transport Aérien
Intendance
Commandement air des systèmes de surveillance, d'information et de communications
Commandement des Écoles de l'Armée de l'Air
Force Aérienne de Combat
Force Aérienne de Projection
Forces de protection et de sécurité de l'armée de l'air

Notable recipients (partial list)

Gold grade

Paris firefighter master corporal Christophe Dubois
Athlete Cyril Soyer
General Denis Mercier

Silver grade

General Bruno Dary
Admiral Pierre-François Forissier
Général de corps d'armée Bruno Clément-Bollée
General Francis Pollet
Admiral Bernard Rogel

Bronze grade

Admiral Édouard Guilaud
General Benoît Puga
General Xavier Bout de Marnhac
Prince Jean, Duke of Vendome
Prince Charles Philippe, Duke of Anjou
Jean, Count of Paris
Police colonel Isabelle Guion de Méritens
Police major Bruno Beschizza
Naval reserve lieutenant commander Jean-Jacques Brot
Police brigadier general Thierry Orosco
General Antoine Lecerf
Gendarmerie nationale général d'armée Denis Favier
Sailor Bruno Sevaistre
US Army Lieutenant Colonel William Hogan (Bronze Grade with Armee de Terre clasp
US Army Captain Scott Curtis (Bronze Grade with Armee De Terre clasp
US Army Sergeant Kyle Hall (Bronze Grade with Armee De Terre clasp
Cyprus Air Force Sergeant Kyritsis Evangelos (with Armee De L'Air clasp)
Dr Frank Blazich, Smithsonian Institution (Bronze Grade with Armee De Terre and Légion étrangère clasps)