There are a number of SFMC Awards which may be issued at the discretion of the Brigade OIC. If any Unit OIC, or any member of the Brigade feels that a fellow Marine is deserving of recognition, please submit an Award Nomination Form to the Brigade OIC for consideration.

If the qualifications for the requested award as described in the current Marine Force Manual are met, the award will be approved.

Nominations for awards may be submitted at any time, and should be sent directly to the Brigade OIC. There is no need for Unit OIC to wait for a reporting cycle to submit an award nomination.

The 5th Brigade's Annual 'Valor' Awards for the Year 2001 In ascending order of precedence are: Legion of Valor (a.k.a. Brigade Unit of the Year): Presented to the 521st Marine Strike Group, Blackjacks OIC: COL Norman E. DeRoux, SFMC-R. This award is given to the Brigade unit that most exemplifies the spirit, image, and attitude of the STARFLEET Marine Corps within the Brigade. This unit should set the standard for conduct, appearance, motivation, and activity for which all units in the Brigade should strive. Star of Valor (a.k.a. Brigade NCO of the Year): Not Presented [No Nominations Received for 2001] This award is given to the Marine NCO who most exemplifies the personal and professional standards of leadership valued by the NCO Corps of the Brigade. This Marine NCO has made a significant personal impact in community service efforts throughout their area, and through their actions and words, has provided the highest standard of guidance and leadership to their fellow Marines, setting a standard of excellence for other NCOs to follow. Shield of Valor (a.k.a. Brigade Volunteer of the Year): Presented to Marine Captain Nadine Romero, SFMC-R 521st MSG, Blackjacks This award is given to the Marine who has made the most significant personal impact in community service efforts within the Brigade. This effort does not necessarily have to be on behalf of an SFMC campaign effort, but financial donations are specifically excluded as the basis for eligibility. Volunteering your time and hard work counts, simply writing a check doesn't. Candidates for this award should be chosen from Marines in a particular Brigade who have received the Community Service Citation within the past year. Sword of Valor (a.k.a. Brigade Leader of the Year): Presented to Colonel John Adcock, SFMC 512th MSG, Sword Team One This award is given to the Marine who most exemplifies the personal and professional standards of leadership valued by the Brigade. This individual, through their actions and words, has provided the highest standard of guidance and leadership to their fellow Marines, setting the standard of excellence for other leaders to follow. Cross of Valor (a.k.a. Brigade Marine of the Year): Presented to Colonel Norman E. DeRoux, SFMC-R 521st MSG, Blackjacks This award is given to the Marine, officer or enlisted, who most exemplifies the spirit, image, and attitude of the SFMC within the Brigade -- the one who sets the standard for personal conduct, appearance, motivation, dedicated service, and esprit de corps for which all STARFLEET Marines in that Brigade strive. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The SFMC Awards Program The SFMC awards program exists for two basic reasons. First, they are intended as tangible evidence of recognition for some achievement or service. Second, awards serve as a motivating factor. Awards are indicated by ribbons, and worn on Class A uniforms. The Awards Program of the SFMC is not a static concept. Rather it evolves and changes to meet the needs of the organization as a whole. For this reason, it is important to keep in touch with the chain of command for the latest information on the awards standards. The Awards Procedure To receive an award, you have to be nominated for it by someone. Usually this involves your Unit OIC, ship CO, or fellow Marines. An award recommendation is sent up the chain of command to the appropriate authority (issuing authority for each award is specified in the next section). If you have met or exceeded the standards for that award, it will be authorized and then awarded to you. Eligibility For Awards SFMC awards may normally only be awarded to STARFLEET Marines or STARFLEET Marine units. This means that in order to receive awards, individuals must be SFI members in good standing, and units must be listed as active and reporting for a minimum of 3 reporting periods. These limits are intended to reinforce and support the link between participation and communication that are essential for a successful fan organization. Recommending Awards Remember, although only certain persons can actually authorize each of these awards, they can be recommended by anyone in the Chain of Command. This is one reason why unit reports and good communication are so important. If the Brigade OIC never hears about the things your unit has done, he certainly can't recommend an award. Military Service Ribbons At no time may any member of the SFMC wear any award ribbons associated with the real-world military service on any SFMC uniforms of any type regardless of whether that person has earned the right to wear that ribbon otherwise. Wearing The Ribbons All awards are ranked in order of precedence, from the highest to the lowest. The ribbons are worn in that order. The ribbon with the lowest precedence goes on the bottom row to the wearer's extreme left (toward their arm), and the highest goes at the top to the wearer's right (toward their heart). In this way, ribbons are read by an observer from left to right, top to bottom—just like reading words—with the most important ribbon first and the least important last. Each row of ribbons is, at most, three ribbons wide. If the total number of ribbons necessitates a row with less than three, that row is placed at the top and centered Silver stars represent additional awards of the same ribbon, gold stars represent five additional awards of the same ribbon. Therefore, a Marine who has received three Brigade Service Commendations would wear the appropriate ribbon with two silver stars. A Marine who has received six Academic Excellence Awards would wear the appropriate ribbon and a gold star. Award Categories All SFMC awards belong to one of three categories: Achievement, Service, and Training. In order of precedence, all Achievement Ribbons are worn ahead of all Service ribbons, which are worn ahead of all Training ribbons.

.