Meritorious Service Medal (MSM): Overview
The Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) is awarded under AR 600-8-22 for outstanding meritorious achievement or service, typically in a non-combat setting, that exceeds the level of the Army Commendation Medal. It is the standard decoration for senior NCOs and officers at retirement and for significant field-grade and key-developmental contributions.
Because the MSM frequently includes a supplementary narrative and is approved at a higher level than the AAM and ARCOM, EvalMe's current AwardMe scope focuses on the AAM and ARCOM, which only require the Achievement and Citation fields. Full MSM support — including the narrative field — is planned.
MSM versus ARCOM
The MSM sits one tier above the ARCOM. Where an ARCOM recognizes sustained meritorious service at the company-through-battalion level, the MSM recognizes broader, higher-consequence contribution — often culminating a career. The citation conventions are similar, but MSM packets commonly include a narrative the AAM and ARCOM do not require.
How the MSM submits in IPPS-A
The MSM follows the same Buddy PAR Award Recommendation path in IPPS-A, with the Achievement and Citation fields plus, for the MSM, the Narrative field. AwardMe will add narrative generation when MSM support ships.
Coming soon in AwardMe
Until MSM support is released, use the ARCOM pages for sustained-service write-ups and watch the Help Center for the MSM and narrative-field release. The AAM and ARCOM tools are the current focus because they cover the highest-volume Soldier needs: ETS, PCS, and single-achievement awards.
Generate this with AwardMe
AwardMe generates the Achievement block and citation from your plain-language notes, enforces the AR 600-8-22 rules automatically (including the AAM serial-comma convention), refuses generic placeholders, and produces output ready to paste into the IPPS-A Achievement and Citation fields.
Open AwardMe →Related award pages
EvalMe is an independent private service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or any U.S. Government agency. Award criteria and citation conventions are summarized from AR 600-8-22; consult the regulation and your servicing awards office for authoritative guidance.