R 231729Z APR 25 MARADMIN 201/25 SUBJ/2025 AMERICAN LEGION SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARD NOMINATION/ AND APPLICATION PROCESS// NARR/A/MSGID:LTR/AMERLEG/YMD:20250109// AMPN/REF A IS A LETTER FROM AMERICAN LEGION TO COMREL REQUESTING  AWARD SUPPORT// POC/C. CASH/CIV/AMERLEG /TEL: 202-263-5763/ EMAIL: [email protected]// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  The purpose of this MARADMIN is to announce and solicit nominations for the Annual American Legion's Spirit of Service Award.  Sponsored by the National Headquarters of the American Legion, this award is presented annually to an enlisted service members (E-5 and below) from each of the military services for outstanding volunteer service performed off duty in their local community.  The awards are presented during the national convention, which will take place in Tampa Bay, FL 24 August to 28 August 2025. 2.  Selection criteria. The following criteria have been established for the selection of the nominee for the American Legion's Spirit of Service Award: 2.a.  Nominee must be serving on active duty or as a member of the reserve or National Guard in a branch of the uniformed services of the United States of America when the volunteer service is performed. 2.b.  Nominee that meets criteria must have served in the pay grades of E-5 and below when the act is performed. 2.c.  Nominee must be serving on active duty at the time the award is presented at the national convention/conference. 2.d.  Service for which nominee is to be recognized must be voluntary action initiated by nominee and not a result of directions or orders. 2.e.  Service performed by nominee must have brought credit to the individual, his or her service, and the enlisted community of the uniformed services of the United States of America. 3.  Nomination criteria. Nominations must be fully substantiated and reflect a careful and conscientious evaluation of the nominee. Each nomination package shall: 3.a.  Include all appropriate endorsements, to include, at a minimum, an endorsement from the first officer in the nominee's chain of command.  3.b.  The period of volunteer service should be 1 January – 31 December 2024. Number of volunteer hours and organization name where nominee provided community service, as well as the activity must be listed on nominee’s bio sheet. 3.c.  Be addressed from the nominating unit to the American Legion via the chain of command. 3.d.  Include a statement that, if selected, the nominee will be available to receive the award at the American Legion's National Convention. 3.e.  Cite specific examples of volunteer community service  performed off-duty and show how the community benefitted from that service.  Nominations must also reflect outstanding military performance. 4.  Nomination format.  The nomination must be in standard naval  letter format and include the following information:  4.a.  Nominee's full name, rank, military occupation specialty (MOS), current duty station, unit address, work phone number, home of record, and a work email address. 4.b.  A nomination justification section in paragraph or bullet format. 4.c.  Name and address of the unit in which nominee was serving when volunteer service was made. 4.d.  Name of unit officer in charge and his/her contact phone number and email address.  5.  Additional enclosures.  In addition to the nomination letter, each submission must include the following as separate enclosures: 5.a.  Nominee's professional biography. 5.b.  A proposed citation in standard paragraph format to be read at the award's presentation, if selected. 5.c.  8" x 10" glossy .jpg photograph or the nominee's high-resolution digital head and shoulder photograph.  This should be an official biography photo taken by their respective unit in a full-service uniform. 6.  Submissions which do not follow the above guidelines or are  received after the deadline specified in paragraph 9 will not be considered. 7.  Upon completion of the selection process, the command and selected awardee will be notified by the American Legion.  The award recipient should plan on arriving at the convention no later than (NLT) 24 August and depart 28 August 2025. 8.  All nominations should be sent electronically via email:  [email protected] using document format with the following subject Line: "2025 AMERICAN LEGION'S SPIRIT OF SERVICE AWARDS PROGRAM IN CASE OF RANK/NAME."  Hard copy nominations will not be accepted. 9.  Deadline.  Nomination packages must be received NLT COB, EST 15 May 2025.  No extensions or exceptions will be granted. 10.  Logistics and expenditures.  The awardee will be covered in terms of compensation if the awardee drives to the convention.  If the awardee flies within the continental US, they will be covered for the flights and that will be secured on the Legion's part, as well as the commander’s banquet for the award recipient.  Any additional accompanying guests will not be covered by the American Legion.  Using this message as a reference, commands are encouraged to issue temporary additional duty orders so the award recipient may attend the convention.  Specific coordinating details, to include travel arrangements and uniform requirements, will be sent to the award recipient by the American Legion following the selection process.  For additional logistical details about this program, contact Ms. Courtney Cash of the American Legion via email to: [email protected] or via telephone at (202) 263-5763. 11.  A written and signed, statement of consent by the nominee, authorizing release of information contained in the nomination, per the Privacy Act of 1974.  The following statement is a sample of written consent: "I Rank/full name, do hereby authorize the release of all information enclosed in this nomination package to those persons involved in the selection process." 12.  Award recipients must report acceptance of travel to their local Staff Judge Advocate (SJA). Local SJA, in turn, must report this information to HQMC JA Division’s code JCA for semi-annual DOD reporting purposes.  SF 326 (semiannual report of payments accepted from a non-federal source) is authorized for use for this report. 13. Release authorized By SES April L. Langwell, Director Of  Communication, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps.//