Editing Humanitarian Service Medal

{{short description|Award of the United States military}}
{{distinguish|Humanitarian Medal}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox award
|name=Humanitarian Service Medal
|image=Humanitarian Service Medal of the United States military.jpg
|image_size=230px
|caption='''[[Obverse and reverse|Obverse]]'''
|presenter=the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/134833v2_dodm_2016.pdf |title=Info |website=www.esd.whs.mil |access-date=2018-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912013545/http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/134833v2_dodm_2016.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|type= Service medal
|eligibility= U.S. military personnel
|awarded_for = meritorious direct participation in a significant military act or operation of a humanitarian nature. 
|status= Active
|firstawarded=1977 (retroactive to April 1, 1975)
|established= {{Executive Order|11965}}, January 19, 1977
|higher= [[Armed Forces Service Medal]]<ref name=1348.33V2>{{cite web|author1=Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness|title=Department of Defense Manual Number 1348.33, Volume 2|url=http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134833vol2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322212453/http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/134833vol2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 22, 2011|publisher=[[Defense Technical Information Center]]|access-date=January 24, 2016|page=71}}</ref>
|lower= [[Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal]]<ref name=1348.33V2/>
|related=[[Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service]]
|image2= [[Image:Humanitarian Service ribbon.svg|border|106px]]
|caption2= [[Service ribbon]]
}}

The '''Humanitarian Service Medal''' ('''HSM''') is a [[Awards and decorations of the United States military|military service medal]] of the [[United States Armed Forces]] which was created on January 19, 1977 by [[Gerald Ford|President Gerald Ford]] under {{ExecutiveOrder|11965}}.  The medal may be awarded to members of the United States military (including Reserve and [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] members) who distinguish themselves by meritorious participation in specified military acts or operations of a humanitarian nature.<ref name=tioh>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/humanitarian_service.aspx |title=Institute of Heraldry Humanitarian Service Medal |access-date=2011-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028120429/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/awards/humanitarian_service.aspx |archive-date=2012-10-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7816 Air Force Personal Center Humanitarian Service Medal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906170136/http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7816 |date=2015-09-06 }}</ref>

==Creation==
[[Julia V. Taft]], the director of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for Indochinese resettlement proposed the establishment of a Humanitarian Service Medal for U.S. military personnel and submitted the request to President [[Gerald R. Ford]] on November 10, 1975. The medal was to be awarded to those personnel that participated in the evacuation of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees after the [[Vietnam War]]. The proposal was met with dissent by Army Lieutenant General [[Harold G. Moore]], who was concerned that the military was over-decorating its personnel with awards of participation rather than those of extraordinary achievement. He proposed a certificate of achievement as a more appropriate recognition. Army Lieutenant General [[John W. Vessey]] supported the creation of the medal as a precedent to recognize military participation in major humanitarian actions. Vessey's view prevailed and President Ford established the medal in 1977 as one of the last acts of his presidency.<ref name="Lipman">{{cite journal|last1=Lipman|first1=Jana K.|title="A Presedent Worth Setting..." Military Humanitarianism: The U.S. Military and the 1975 Vietnamese Evacuation|journal=The Journal of Military History|date=January 2015|volume=79|issue=1|pages=151–152}}</ref>

==Criteria==
This medal is presented as an individual service medal.  The activities in which the Humanitarian Service Medal may be authorized are designated by the [[United States Department of Defense]].  Such activities include natural disaster relief, evacuation of non-combatants from a hostile area, or humanitarian support to refugees.  This medal may not be awarded for services rendered in domestic disturbances involving law enforcement, riots, or protection of property.  This medal may also not be presented if either the [[Armed Forces Service Medal]] or [[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]] was presented for the same period of service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/32cfr578.35.htm|title=Humanitarian Service Medal.|website=edocket.access.gpo.gov}}</ref>

The Humanitarian Service Medal is retroactive to April 2, 1975.

The [[Department of the Army]] awards the [[Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service]] for similar service by Army civilian employees, as well as private U.S. and foreign citizens.<ref>{{cite web| title =Army Regulation 672–20 Incentive Awards| publisher =Headquarters, [[Department of the Army]]| date =January 29, 1999| url =http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r672_20.pdf| access-date =January 4, 2013| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150114100802/http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r672_20.pdf| archive-date =January 14, 2015}}</ref>

==Appearance==
Centered on the [[obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the medal within a circle, is a right hand pointing diagonally upward with open palm, (to symbolize a giving or helping hand). At the top of the reverse of the medal is the inscription, ''For Humanitarian Service'' in three lines. Below this is an oak branch, with three leaves and three acorns, and below this, around the outside edge of the medal, is the inscription, ''United States Armed Forces''.<ref name=tioh/>

; Additional awards and devices
Subsequent awards of the Humanitarian Service Medal are denoted by wearing a bronze [[service star]] on the HSM suspension and [[service ribbon]]. A silver service star is worn in lieu of five bronze service stars.

==Approved operations==
Below is a non-exhaustive list of operations approved since 2020 in accordance with the Department of Defense.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://prhome.defense.gov/Portals/52/Documents/MRA_Docs/OEPM/HSM%20List%20-%20Final%20-%202021%2004%2001.pdf?ver=35iaexIvbivkp6CtnNqXVw%3d%3d|title=Humanitarian Service Medal - Approved Operations|website=PRHome.Defense.gov|access-date=30 June 2021}}</ref>
{| class="toccolours" style="width:100%; clear:both; margin:1.5em auto;"
|-
|+ style="background:darkGrey;"| <span style="color:white;">Approved operations for the Humanitarian Service Medal</span>
|- style="background:#c5d2ea;"
!Area or operation
!Start date
!End date
!Geographic area (note 1)
|-
|Hurricanes Eta and Iota
|November 5, 2020
|December 5, 2020
|Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, and Colombia, adjacent airspace and adjacent waters within 10 nautical miles
|-
|DoD Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Operations / Activities
|January 31, 2020
|June 1, 2023 <ref name=":0" />
|Global
|-
|[[Operation Allies Refuge]] (OAR) & Allies Welcome (OAW)
|31 August 2021
|1 Apr 2022
|Afghanistan, United States <ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=1 April 2025 |title=Humanitarian Service Medal - Approved Operations Current as of: 1 April 2025 |url=https://prhome.defense.gov/Portals/52/Documents/MRA_Docs/OEPM/HSM%20Approved%20Ops%20-%202025%2004%2001_1.pdf?ver=nR5WpUrCemsAbFxoT6_0yg%3d%3d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://prhome.defense.gov/Portals/52/Documents/MRA_Docs/OEPM/HSM%20Approved%20Ops%20-%202025%2004%2001_1.pdf?ver=nR5WpUrCemsAbFxoT6_0yg%3d%3d |archive-date=1 April 2025 |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=pr.home.defense.gov}}</ref>
|-
|[[2022 Pakistan floods|Pakistan Flood]] Relief 
|September 1, 2022
|September 16, 2022
|Pakistan and extending 12 nautical miles to sea per the international maritime sea boundary <ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes|Türkiye Earthquake]] Relief
|February 6, 2023
|March 10, 2023
|The provinces of Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir, Adana, Adiyaman, Osmaniye, Hatay, Kilis, and Malatya within the country of Türkiye <ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[Typhoon Mawar|Super Typhoon Mawar]]
|May 19, 2023
|June 20, 2023
|Territory of Guam <ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[Bagana|Mount Bagana Eruption]] 
|August 7, 2023
|August 16, 2023
|The Bougainville Region of Papua New Guinea <ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[2023 Hawaii wildfires|Hawaii and Maui Wildfires]]
|August 8, 2023
|December 31, 2023
|The islands of Hawaii and Maui <ref name=":0" />
|-
|Operation NEPTUNE SOLACE (ONS)
|March 2, 2024
|August 31, 2024
|Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean Sea corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, the Gaza coastline and territorial waters, and the airspace of Gaza <ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[Hurricane Milton]]
|October 9, 2024
|December 20, 2024
|The following counties in Florida:  Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miccosukee Indian Reservation, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco. Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, and Volusia <ref name=":0" />
|-
|[[Hurricane Helene]] 
|September 29, 2024
|December 20, 2024
|Qualifying counties in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia <ref name=":0" />
|}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{US interservice decorations}}
{{United States Campaign Medals}}
{{Portal bar|Numismatics|United States}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1977 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1977]]
[[Category:American humanitarian and service awards]]
[[Category:United States service medals]]