MARADMIN 093/25 - Military Awards Guidance for Permanent Change of Station Season

Scope

MARADMIN 093/25 publishes the enduring guidance for processing Department of the Navy Personal Military Decorations (PMDs) during Marine Corps PCS season. The MARADMIN replaces five prior season-specific MARADMINs and sets the steady-state expectations for award nomination, format, processing timeline, and common-mistake avoidance.

Audience

Unit Award Administrators (UAAs). Award originators. Awarding authorities. Reporting Seniors writing transition awards on departing Marines. S-1 and IPAC personnel processing awards in iAPS.

Key clauses

• Identifying nominees. UAAs identify the outbound population for the command before PCS season starts and publish the list to command leadership. Originators identify high-performing Marines deserving of PMDs and submit recommendations in iAPS with enough lead time to complete before the anticipated presentation date.
• PMD format. Originate every DoN PMD in iAPS. Summary of Action is limited to two pages per SECNAV M-1650.1. Verify with the "Print 11533 (PDF)" button in iAPS. SOA is required for every PMD nomination from a Marine Corps command.
• Citations and certificates. Upload only the citation and certificate to the "certificate" section of the iAPS case for OMPF inclusion. Awards of Meritorious Service Medal and above carry a 1670-character limit in standard case format. Awards of NC and NA carry a 1250-character limit in all capital letters. NC and NA allow font 8 to 12 pitch and left and right margins 0.5 to 1.0 inch.

Timelines

• PMD nominations reach the final awarding authority at least 60 days before the desired presentation date. Failure to meet the 60-day window risks delaying adjudication past presentation.
• CMC-approved awards reach CMC (MMPB-31) in iAPS no later than 60 days before the anticipated presentation date.
• SECNAV-approved awards reach CMC (MMPB-31) in iAPS no later than 90 days before the anticipated presentation date.

Expedited PMD requests

Expedites are accepted only for retirement, relief and appointments, or changes of command. The senior endorsing General Officer signs the expedite request. An expedite reduces the number of votes required by the HQMC Military Awards Board. The expedite does not guarantee adjudication by the desired date. The request includes an explanation of why the expedite is necessary.

Retirement and separation awards

• Meritorious period end date should be approximately two weeks prior to the retirement date or the start of terminal leave. This timing allows the award to report in MCTFS and land on the DD Form 214. Awards not in MCTFS before terminal leave or retirement typically miss the DD 214. Affected Marines submit Standard Form 180 to correct the DD 214.
• Joint command originators. Marines retiring from a joint command are eligible to receive a DoN award via NAVMC 11533. The joint command uses the blank NAVMC 11533 from the MMPB-31 website. After the first General or Flag Officer in the joint chain of command endorses, the form routes to the MMPB-3 organizational mailbox.

Certificates of Commendation and below

iAPS has an SOA section for Certificates of Commendation but does not require it. Enter "SOA not required" in this field. Meritorious Masts created in iAPS are sometimes erroneously forwarded to MMPB-31. To prevent an unsigned document landing in the OMPF, the awarding authority should originate the award and upload a signed certificate before approval.

Combat Action Ribbon and Combat Conditions PMDs

A PMD with a C device or a Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service under combat conditions does not automatically qualify the Marine for the Combat Action Ribbon. The awarding authority verifies the CR criteria in SECNAV M-1650.1 separately.

Common mistakes

• Incorrect opening or closing sentences on NC and NA citations. Use SECNAV M-1650.1.
• Inconsistent action dates across the NAVMC 11533, SOA, citation, and certificate.
• Incorrect meritorious period end date for separating Marines.
• Inconsistent dates between iAPS approval and certificate.
• Incorrect use of "great credit". Reserved for Air Medal and above.
• A commander approving an award outside their delegated authority.
• A commander directing rescission of an award and origination of a lesser award. Only the official with approval authority holds the power to downgrade or disapprove.
• Award approved in iAPS does not match the citation and certificate presented.
• A Marine commander approving a DoN PMD for a foreign service member.
• Attaching documents other than the signed citation or certificate in the iAPS certificate field. Attached items land in the recipient OMPF. Do not attach letters of transmittal or the NAVMC 11533.
• Administrative corrections route to MMPB-31 using the template on the MMPB-31 website.

Connection to higher policy

• SECNAV M-1650.1. Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual. Governs the SOA page limit, citation opening and closing sentences, and the CR criteria this message applies.
• SECNAVINST 1650.1J. Department of the Navy Military Awards Policy. The DoN policy layer above this guidance. Portal awards pages cite it alongside this MARADMIN.

Connection to Marine Corps doctrine and lower policy

• MARADMIN 077/25. Delegation of awarding authority. The companion delegation message. Approval outside delegated authority is a listed common mistake in this guidance.
• MCO 1650.19J. Administrative and Issue Procedures for Decorations, Medals, and Awards. The Marine Corps procedural manual portal awards pages pair with this message.
• NAVMC 11533. Personal award recommendation form. The blank version for joint commands sits on the MMPB-31 website.
• iAPS and MCTFS. Systems of record for nomination processing and award reporting. DD Form 214 and Standard Form 180 carry the downstream record corrections.
• Portal admin awards pages, covering award nomination preparation, HQMC APS submission, and the awards program overview, cite this MARADMIN.

Status

Active. Applicable to the total force. Cancels MARADMIN 065/20, 080/21, 132/22, 086/23, and 222/24. Released by MajGen Ryan S. Rideout, Director, Manpower Management Division.