Editing Joint Meritorious Unit Award (section)

==History==
Authorized by the Secretary of Defense on June 10, 1981, this award was originally called the Department of Defense Meritorious Unit Award. It is awarded in the name of the Secretary of Defense to joint activities for meritorious achievement or service, superior to that which is normally expected, for actions in the following situations; combat with an armed enemy of the United States, a declared national emergency, or under extraordinary circumstances that involve national interests.<ref>"Awards and decorations". Air Force Personnel Center. United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.</ref>

The first organization to receive the Joint Meritorious Unit Award was the "Electronic Warfare During Close Air Support Joint Test Force" which was awarded the decoration on September 30, 1982.<ref>[https://prhome.defense.gov/Portals/52/Documents/RFM/MPP/OEPM/Docs/Approved%20JMUAs%20-%20Updated%2031%20Dec%202012.pdf Joint Meritorious Unit Award – Approved DoD Activities], Department of Defense OEPM, date accessed 2011-04-05</ref> The JMUA was also awarded to U.S. Marines and the U.S. Navy who served in Somalia in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/NAVMC%202922%20dtd%209AUG12.pdf |title=Publication |website=www.marines.mil |access-date=2018-04-01 |archive-date=2018-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730131743/https://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/NAVMC%202922%20dtd%209AUG12.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

It was awarded for [[Operation Praying Mantis]] in 1988.  Returning Navy units were to receive a [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]], but it was downgraded after [[Iran Air Flight 655]] was shot down by {{USS|Vincennes|CG-49|6}}.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

The Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a ribbon, enclosed in a [[gold frame]]. Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard recipients wear a different, smaller frame than do U.S. Army, as the latters' unit awards are displayed at a different location on the uniform.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usamilitarymedals.com/products/joint-meritorious-unit-award-with-army-frame|title=Joint Meritorious Unit Award with Army Frame|website=USAMM}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usamilitarymedals.com/products/joint-meritorious-unit-award-with-navy-af-mc-cg-frame|title=Joint Meritorious Unit Award with NAVY/AF/MC/CG Frame|website=USAMM}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flyingtigerssurplus.com/joint-meritorious-unit-award-small-frame.html|title=Joint Meritorious Unit Award (Small Frame) - Navy Medals & Ribbons|website=www.flyingtigerssurplus.com}}</ref> The ribbon is very similar to the [[Defense Superior Service Medal]], indicative of it signifying that the unit must have performed service of a character comparable to it, which, if performed by an individual, would warrant the award of the medal.

Subsequent decorations of the Joint Meritorious Unit Award are annotated with [[oak leaf cluster]]s.<ref>[http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7783 Fact Sheet: Joint Meritorious Unit Award] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616183610/http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7783 |date=2011-06-16 }}, [[Air Force Personnel Center]], date accessed 2011-04-05.</ref>