Type service medal Last awarded 12 September 1958 | First awarded 12 September 1938 | |
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Awarded for 10 years of service in the USNR, National Naval Volunteers, or local naval militia Next (higher) Armed Forces Reserve Medal Next (lower) Philippine Presidential Unit Citation | ||
The Naval Reserve Medal is a decoration of the United States Navy which was created by order of Secretary of the Navy James Paulding. The medal was first issued on 12 September 1938 and was an active award until 1958. On 12 September 1958, the Naval Reserve Medal was declared discontinued and was replaced by the Armed Forces Reserve Medal. It is not to be confused with the Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal which is a different award.
The Naval Reserve Medal was awarded to any member of the United States Naval Reserve, the associated National Naval Volunteers, and local naval militia units. To be awarded the decoration, a service member was required to perform ten years of continuous service in one of the aforementioned components in either an active duty, drilling reservist, or inactive status.
Additional awards of the Naval Reserve Medal are denoted by service stars. The United States Marine Corps equivalent to the award is the Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon.
The Naval Reserve Medal originally held precedence just below that of the Navy Good Conduct Medal which, in turn, held precedence just below unit awards. Sometime after 1958, the precedence of the Naval Reserve Medal was moved to rank just below the Armed Forces Reserve Medal making it the lowest ranking medal awarded by the United States Armed Forces aside from the Navy and Coast Guard expert marksmanship medals.