R 262106Z FEB 25 MARADMIN 093/25 MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM// SUBJ/MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON// REF/A/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD:  2/5/2020// REF/B/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD:  2/19/2021// REF/C/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD:  3/21/2022// REF/D/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD:  2/13/2023// REF/E/MSGID/MSG/CMC WASHINGTON DC MRA MM/YMD:  5/15/2024// REF/F/DOC/SECNAV/YMD:  20190529// REF/G/DOC/SECNAV/YMD:  20190816// REF/H/DOC/CMC/YMD:  20121015// NARR/REF A IS MARADMIN 065/20, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2020 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON.  REF B IS MARADMIN 080/21, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2021 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON.  REF C IS MARADMIN 132/22, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2022 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON.  REF D IS MARADMIN 086/23, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2023 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON.  REF E IS MARADMIN 222/24, MILITARY AWARDS GUIDANCE FOR THE 2024 PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION SEASON.  REF F IS SECNAVINST 1650.1J, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY MILITARY AWARDS POLICY.  REF G IS SECNAV M-1650.1, NAVY AND MARINE CORPS AWARDS MANUAL.  REF H IS MCO 1650.19J W/CH-1, ADMINISTRATIVE AND ISSUE PROCEDURES FOR DECORATIONS, MEDALS, AND AWARDS.// POC/HQMC MMPB-3//TEL: 703-784-9342/EMAIL:   [email protected] POC/A. L. CRUZ/CAPT/HQMC MMPB-31/TEL:  703-784-9342 DSN:  312-278-9342/EMAIL:  [email protected]// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  Cancellations.  References (a-e) are hereby  cancelled. 2.  Per the references, the following guidance is the enduring military awards Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Season guidance. 3.  Identifying Award Nominees.  Prior to the start of the PCS season, unit award administrators (UAAs) should identify the outbound population for the command and publish this information to the command leadership.  Award originators are to identify those high performing individuals deserving of Department of the Navy  (DoN) personal military decorations (PMDs) and submit the  appropriate recommendation via the improved Awards Processing System (iAPS). Nominations shall be submitted in a timely manner to ensure the award is complete prior to the anticipated presentation date. 4.  DoN PMD Format and Processing.  All DoN PMDs from Marine Corps Commands shall be originated in iAPS. 4.a.  Summary of Action (SOA).  Reference (g) limits the SOA for PMDs to two pages.  Since the iAPS SOA field has no lines or character limit, award originators must ensure compliance by using the “Print 11533 (PDF)” button in iAPS, to verify that the SOA does not exceed two pages.  A SOA is required for all PMD  nominations from Marine Corps commands. 4.b.  Citations and Certificates.  Originators should carefully  review the opening and closing sentences in reference (g). Awarding authorities are responsible for ensuring that the award produced and presented aligns with the approval in iAPS. The citation and certificate must be uploaded to the "certificate" section of the iAPS case to facilitate the inclusion of the award into the nominee’s Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). Only the citation and certificate should be attached in the “certificate” section of iAPS. 4.b.1.  Meritorious Service Medal and Above.  To comply with reference (g), the character limit for the Meritorious Service Medal and awards of higher precedence is 1670 characters, and the citation should be written in standard case format.  Meeting the character count in iAPS does not justify exceeding the line count for the  citation, nor does meeting the line count justify exceeding the  character count.   4.b.2.  Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Below.  To comply with reference (g), the character limit for the Navy and  Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal iAPS citations/certificates will remain at 1250 characters, typed in all capital letters.  Commands are authorized  to deviate from the formatting requirements in reference (g) as identified below: 4.b.2.a.  The font size must be between 8 and 12 pitch. 4.b.2.b.  The left and right margins must be between 0.5” and 1.0.” 5.  Timeline for Submission.  Reference (g) states PMD nominations should be submitted to the final awarding authority for adjudication at least 60 days prior to the desired presentation date.  Failure to meet this timeline may result in the PMD not being  adjudicated in time for the intended presentation.  The intent is  for approved PMDs to be presented to the recipient prior to  detachment or separation from the command in which the actions  occurred.  Award originators must plan the submission timeline based on the 60-day requirement. 5.a.  In accordance with reference (h), awards approved by CMC, the nominations must reach CMC (MMPB-31) in iAPS NLT 60 days prior to  the anticipated presentation date. 5.b.  In accordance with references (g) and (h), awards approved by the SECNAV must reach CMC (MMPB-31) in iAPS NLT 90 days prior to the anticipated presentation date. 6.  Requests to expedite PMDs awarded by CMC or higher authority. Requests to expedite PMDs will only be accepted in cases of  retirement, relief and appointments, or changes of command.   A request to expedite an award must be signed by the senior  endorsing General Officer.  A request to expedite an award reduces  the number of votes required by the HQMC Military Awards Board.   This does not, however, guarantee that the award will be completed  by the desired presentation date.  The request must include an  explanation of why the award needs to be expedited. 7.  Retirement and Separation Awards. 7.a.  Meritorious Period End Date. Please note that the end date for the meritorious period of separation or retirement awards should be approximately two weeks prior to the retirement date or start of terminal leave.  This ensures that the award can be reported in Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS) and added to the Certificate of Release or Discharge (DD-214).  Awards not reported in MCTFS  prior to a Marine starting terminal leave, or retirement are  typically not included on the DD-214.  In such cases, the Marine must submit a request for correction to their DD-214 using Standard  Form 180. 7.b.  Other Service Originators.  Those Marines who are retiring  from a joint command may be nominated for a DoN award.  The joint command should utilize the NAVMC 11533.  A blank copy of the NAVMC  11533 can be found on the MMPB-31 website.  Once the NAVMC 11533 has been endorsed by the first General or Flag Officer in the joint  chain of command, it should be submitted to the MMPB-3  organizational mailbox. 8.  Certificates of Commendation and Below.  Although a SOA section exists in iAPS for Certificates of Commendation, a SOA is not  required.  Simply enter “SOA not required” in this field.  Note that Meritorious Masts recommendations created in iAPS, are often erroneously forwarded to MMPB-31.  To prevent an unsigned document from being uploaded to the OMPF, it is recommended that the award be originated by the awarding authority and that a signed certificate  be uploaded prior to approval. 9.  Combat Action Ribbon (CR) and Combat Conditions PMDs.  It is possible to receive a PMD with a C device or a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service under combat conditions, and not qualify for the CR.  The awarding authority is responsible for ensuring the criteria contained in reference (g) are met for all CR or a combat condition award recommendations. 10.  Common Mistakes regarding PMDs. 10.a.  Incorrect opening or closing sentences.  Specifically, on the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.  Utilize Reference (g). 10.b.  Inconsistent action dates on the NAVMC 11533 award form, SOA, citation, and certificate. 10.c.  Incorrect Meritorious Period End Date for Marines separating  from service.  Specifically setting the date too late to allow for sufficient time for processing. 10.d.  Inconsistent dates for award approval in iAPS and date on certificate, see reference (g). 10.e.  Incorrect use of “great credit”.  “Great credit” is only used on awards of the Air Medal and above. 10.f.  A commander approving an award for which they are not the awarding authority. 10.g.  A commander directing an originator to rescind an award and originate a lesser award.  Per reference (g), an award nomination may only be downgraded or disapproved by the official who has the authority to approve the award. 10.h.  Award approved in iAPS does not match the citation and certificate presented to the recipient. 10.i.  A Marine commander approving a DoN PMD for a foreign service member. 10.j.  Attaching documents other than the signed citation or certificate in the "certificate" field in iAPS.  The documents attached in the certificate section of the approved award are uploaded into the recipient’s OMPF.  Do not attach letters of  transmittal or the NAVMC 11533. 10.k.  Administrative Corrections should be submitted to MMPB-31 utilizing the template for administrative change requests on the MMPB-31 website. 11.  This MARADMIN is applicable to the total force. 12.  Release authorized by MajGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director, Manpower Management Division.//