Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award
Ribbon of the medal
Type	Career award
Awarded for	Exceptionally noteworthy or superlative contributions of major significance to the Department of Defense.
Country	United States
Presented by	United States Department of Defense
Eligibility	Career civilian employees of the federal government
Example of Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service
Precedence
Next (higher)	Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award

The Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Award is the second highest career award presented by the Department of Defense. It is presented for exceptionally noteworthy service of major significance to the Department of Defense as a whole.^[1]

Candidates for this award are Department of Defense or other government agency employees who have rendered exceptionally meritorious service of major significance to the Department of Defense. This award requires review by the Department of Defense Incentive Awards Board. This board recommends approval or disapproval of the award, though the Secretary of Defense is the approval authority. Heads of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Components and Secretaries of Military Departments submit nominations to the Assistant Director for Labor and Management Employee Relations, Directorate for Personnel and Security, Washington Headquarters Services.^[2]

Recipients of the award receive a medal set, a certificate signed by the Secretary of Defense and citation.^[1] Recipients may receive the award more than once, with subsequent awards being recognized by bronze, silver, or gold palms.^[2]

• Awards and decorations of the United States government