32 CFR § 705.37 - Public affairs and public service awards.
(a) General.
(1) A number of public service awards are presented by the Department of Defense and the Navy to business and civic leaders, scientists and other nongovernment civilians. Other awards—military and civilian—are presented to members of the naval establishment.
(2) These awards are of public affairs interest in the locale where they are presented and also in the home towns of those who receive them.
(b) Department of Defense awards.
(1) The Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service is presented to individuals. The Department of Defense Meritorious Award honors organizations.
(2) Details, including nominating procedures, are given in SECNAVINST 5061.12.
(c) Secretary of the Navy awards.
(1) The following awards are presented by the Secretary of the Navy: The Navy Distinguished Public Service Award and Navy Meritorious Public Service Citation to individuals; the Navy Certificate of Commendation to members of special committees and groups; and the Navy Certificate of Merit to organizations and associations.
(2) Details are given in SECNAVINST 5061.12.
(3) Nominations for awards to military personnel are considered by the Board of Decorations and Medals, in accordance with SECNAVINST 1650.24A.
(4) Nominations for honorary awards to Department of the Navy civilian employees are considered by the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Panel. (See Civilian Manpower Management Instruction 451.)
(d) Chief of Information awards—(1) Certificate of Public Relations Achievement.
(i) This certificate is signed by the Chief of Information. It honors individuals who are not Navy employees, corporations, or associations.
(ii) It was established to fill the need for a civilian award for public relations achievements which, while not meeting the criteria for public service awards presented by the Secretary of the Navy, are of such Navy-wide significance as to merit recognition at the Department level. Examples of these achievements might be a particularly well done feature article about the Navy in a nationally read newspaper or an outstanding contribution to a locally sponsored event, which ultimately gave national or regional recognition to the Navy.
(iii) The achievement for which the certificate is given shall meet the following criteria:
(A) Contribute to accomplishment of the public information objectives of the Navy.
(B) Be the result of a single outstanding project or program.
(C) Have been accomplished within one year of the date of the official letter of nomination.
(iv) Nominations will be submitted through appropriate administrative channels to the Chief of Information, and will include a description of the service rendered, a statement of its relevance to the accomplishment of the public affairs objectives of the Navy and a draft of the recommended citation. To avoid possible embarrassment, nominations shall be marked “For Official Use Only” and safeguarded until final action has been taken.
(2) CHINFO Merit Awards.
(i) These awards, or certificates, are presented quarterly to Navy publications and broadcasts considered to be outstanding or to have shown improvement in meeting professional standards of journalism.
(ii) Publications and broadcasts eligible are those which inform the reader concerning aspects of service life or related matters which contribute to the well-being of naval personnel, their dependents, and civilian employees of the Navy. Civilian enterprise periodicals are included if produced for the exclusive use of a naval installation.
(iii) Nominations are made in two ways:
(A) Selection during regular review periodicals and broadast air-checks received by the Internal Relations Activity.
(B) Nominations from the field. Such nominations are informal and may be made by the officer-in-charge, publications editor, broadcast station manager, or public affairs officer to the chief of Information, Navy Department, Washington, DC 20350 (ATTN: OP–0071).
(3) Other awards pertaining to public affairs/internal relations.
(i) Silver Anvil award is given by the Public Relations Society of America for outstanding public relations programs carried out during the preceding year. Entry blanks and details may be obtained by writing directly to Public Relations Society of America, 845 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. All Navy entries will be forwarded via the Chief of Information.
(ii) Freedom Foundation Awards of cash and medals are annually given to service personnel for letters on patriotic themes. Details are carried in ship and station publications, or may be obtained by writing to Freedom Foundations, Valley Forge, PA 19481.
(iii) Thomas Jefferson Awards are the prizes in an annual interservice competition sponsored by civilian media through the Department of Defense's Office of Information for the Armed Forces. The contest is open to all Armed Forces media—broadcast and print. Details can be obtained by writing to Office of Information, Department of the Navy, Washington, DC 20350.
(iv) Navy League Awards. Several annual awards are presented to naval personnel and civilians who have made a notable contribution to the importance of seapower. The awards are for inspirational leadership, scientific and technical progess, operational competence, literary achievement, etc. Nominations should be forwarded directly to Board of Awards, Navy League of the United States, 818 18th St., NW., Washington, DC 20006.
(v) Nonofficial awards to outstanding Navy students or training units.
(A) Various civilian organizations and private individuals have established awards to be presented to outstanding training units or naval students.
(B) Requests to establish an award for students in the Naval Air Training program should be forwarded to the Chief of Naval Air Training.
(C) Requests to establish an award which will involve more than one school (other than the Naval Air Training Program) will be forwarded to the Chief of Naval Personnel.
(D) All other cases may be decided by the Navy authority at the school concerned.
(E) Directives in the 5061, 1650 and 3590 series issued by pertinent authorities may provide further guidance in individual cases.
(vi) Awards established by a command to honor non-Navy civilians.
(A) Examples of such awards are “Good Neighbor” or “Honorary Crew Member” certificates.
(B) Established to honor persons who have been helpful to the command, they are a valuable community relations program. They should not be awarded to persons or organizations with which the command is associated in a commercial or governmental business capacity.