The National Defense Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States military and was the brainchild of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Created in 1953, the National Defense Service Medal was intended to be a “blanket campaign medal” issued to any member of the United States military who served in a designated time period of which a “national emergency” had been declared.

In the fifty years since the creation of the National Defense Service Medal, it has been authorized for the following time periods.

June 27, 1950 to July 27, 1954 for service during the Korean War, January 1, 1961 to August 14, 1974 for service during the Vietnam War, August 2, 1990 to November 30, 1995 for service during the Gulf War, September 11, 2001 to a date to be announced for service during the War on Terrorism