| Meritorious Unit Commendation | |
| Presenter: | the United States Department of the Army United States Department of the Navy United States Department of Homeland Security |
| Type: | Service Ribbon (unit decoration) |
| Eligibility: | Military Unit |
| Awarded For: | Valorous or meritorious achievement or service, or exceptionally meritorious conduct and outstanding achievement or service, in combat or non-combat. |
| Status: | Currently awarded |
| Firstawarded: | 1944 |
| Lastawarded: | Ongoing |
| Higher: | Army: Valorous Unit Award Naval: Navy Unit Commendation Air and Space Forces: Gallant Unit Citation Coast Guard: Coast Guard Unit Commendation |
| Lower: | Army: Superior Unit Award Naval Service: Navy "E" Ribbon[1] Air and Space Forces: Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award Coast Guard: Meritorious Team Commendation |
| Same: | Air and Space Forces: Meritorious Unit Award |
The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced muck) is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or service in combat or non-combat, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps award units the Navy MUC for valorous or meritorious achievement or service in combat or non-combat, and the U.S. Coast Guard awards units the Coast Guard MUC for valorous or meritorious achievement or service not involving combat.
The Army MUC (previously called the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque) is awarded to units for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months during the period of military operations against an armed enemy occurring on or after 1 January 1944. Service in a combat zone is not required, but must be directly related to the combat effort. Units based in CONUS are excluded from this award, as are other units outside the area of operation. The unit must display such outstanding devotion and superior performance of exceptionally difficult tasks as to set it apart and above other units with similar missions. The degree of achievement required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Legion of Merit (LOM) to an individual. Recommendations for units larger than a brigade will not be submitted. For services performed during World War II, awards will be made only to service units and only for services performed between 1 January 1944 and 15 September 1946.[3]
The Meritorious Service Unit Plaque was originally established by War Department Circular No. 345 on 23 August 1944. The circular provided that members of units which received the Plaque were entitled to wear the Meritorious Service Unit Insignia, a two-inch square olive drab patch with an image of a golden wreath on the right sleeves of their service coats and shirts, four inches from the end of the sleeve. A gold star placed inside the wreath on the insignia represented additional awards, until War Department Circular No. 54, 1946, provided that additional awards would be shown by placing a gold numeral on the inside of the wreath. In December 1946, the Meritorious Service Unit Plaque was eliminated, replaced with the issue of the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
A new design of the Meritorious Service Unit Emblem, a solid red ribbon bordered by a golden wreath to be worn on the right breast of the service coat immediately above the pocket, was approved in April 1947. This replaced the sleeve insignia and was to be effective 1 January 1949. On 16 May 1947, Army Regulation 260-15 announced the MUC, granted the wear of the MUC emblem, and provided for the display of the scarlet MUC streamer, with the name of the applicable theater of operations in white letters. On 11 April 1949, The Adjutant General advised D/PA that the stock position was such that the sleeve patch would not be exhausted prior to 1959. By Comment 2, 1 March 1960, Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel (G-1) stated that for planning purposes, the new Meritorious Service Unit emblem would be authorized for wear on or after 1 January 1961, with wear of the old one prohibited after 30 June 1962. However, the stock level was still so high that the ribbon was not introduced into the supply system until 14 July 1966.
Effective 1 March 1961, the MUC was authorized for units or detachments of the armed forces of the United States for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding services for at least six continuous months (a month is considered 30 calendar days) during military operations against an armed enemy without regard to duties performed or the type of unit performing the duties. Such service is interpreted to relate to combat service support type activities and not to the type of activities performed by senior headquarters, combat, or combat support units.[4]
Effective 11 September 2001, the MUC is authorized for units and/or detachments of the Armed Forces of the United States for exceptionally meritorious performance for at least six continuous months (a month is considered 30 calendar days) during military operations against an armed enemy without regard to type of duties performed or the type of unit performing the duties.[5]
All members of the unit cited for the award are approved to wear the emblem of the MUC. The emblem is thought of as an individual decoration for those in connection with the cited acts and is approved to be worn if they continue as members with the unit or not. Other personnel serving with the unit are approved to wear the emblem to show that the unit is a recipient of the MUC.[6]
The Army Meritorious Unit Commendation is worn after the Valorous Unit Award and before the Superior Unit Award. Additional awards of the Army MUC are denoted by bronze oak leaf clusters.
The Coast Guard MUC is worn after the Coast Guard Unit Commendation and before the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation. Additional awards of the Coast Guard MUC are denoted by inch gold stars. The MUC may also be awarded with the Operational Distinguishing Device, denoted by a inch silver letter "O" centered on the ribbon.