Just as with decorations that are awarded to civilians working with other branches of the Armed Forces of the United States, the ostensible purpose of the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award MCSA is to acknowledge a group or an individual for outstanding service through exemplary performance of duties. But the award serves another equally important purpose: To improve Air Force operations by providing motivation for civilian employees to continually strive for excellence.
To be eligible for the MCSA, civilian personnel working for the Air Force must have performed their assigned duties for at least one full year and meet the definition of “employee” as spelled out in Title 5 § 2015 of the U.S. Code. Among the standards of achievement that merit award of the MCSA is the exercising of noteworthy initiative to create new and/or improved methods and processes that generated significant savings in time, manpower, materials, or other areas of expense; increasing the health or safety of employees; and boosting employee’s morale in a way that leads to increased productivity and greater esprit de corps and workplace enthusiasm. These benefits should have a noticeable impact on the command-wide mission.
The Air Force’s stance on honoring civilians with the MCSA at the ends of their careers has changed substantially over the past two decades. The June, 2000 publication Civilian Recgonition Guide (AF Pamphlet 36–2861) states that since the MCSA “serves as an incentive, it is not appropriate for employees about to retire.” But in 2006’s Air Force Instruction 36-1004, The Air Force Civilian Recognition Program, the guidance for this decoration specifically states that “this award may also be given at the time of retirement.”
The MCSA ranks fourth in precedence of the Air Force’s honorary decorations, just above the Command Award for Valor and directly below the Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award.