Medal for Voluntary Military Service

The Medal for Voluntary Military Service ("Médaille des services militaires volontaires") is a French military decoration established on 13 March 1975 by decree 75-150. It was established in three grades to recognize voluntary military service in the reserves. During World War I, the reserves served as an important part of the defence of France. Following the end of hostilities, in order to reward their volunteerism during training periods, a decree of 13 May 1934 created the "Cross for voluntary military service" ("Croix des services militaires volontaires") in three grades, bronze, silver and gold. This first incarnation of a truly reserve award was rather short lived being replaced on 22 March 1957 with the "Order of military merit" ("Ordre du mérite militaire") at the request of the "Union Nationale des Officiers de Réserve" ("National Union of Reserve Officers"). This award, like many other French orders, had three grades Knight, Officer, and Commander. Unfortunately, the Order of military merit was one of sixteen ministerial awards abolished in December 1963 in favour of an all encompassing new "National Order of Merit" ("Ordre National du Mérite"). Between the abolition of the Order of military merit in 1963 and the creation of the Medal for voluntary military service in 1975, no award existed to adequately recognize reservists. The medal was replaced by the Defence and Internal Security Volunteer Reservists Medal on 1 July 2019. The Medal for voluntary military service is awarded to military personnel not in the full-time regular army serving honourably part-time in information, training and improvement of reserves, recruiting, military preparedness as well as activities within special associations. It may be exceptionally awarded to military personnel of either the reserves or regular army who distinguished themselves by the exceptionally high quality of their service. For award to a member of the regular army, this service must have been carried out outside of normal working hours and for no pay.