Established by Secretary of the Army Wilber Brucker on January 26, 1959, the Meritorious Civilian Service Award (MCSA) is the second highest honor the Army can award a civilian, surpassed only by the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service. Because it is one of the most prestigious honorary civilian awards, nominees for the MCSA typically will have already received at least one honorary award of lower precedence. Recipients are given the MCSA medal, a lapel button, and a certificate when presented with the award; those honored for acts of bravery also receive a $750 cash award. (The Institute of Heraldry has also authorized a miniature medal and a service ribbon for this award.)
The MCSA is awarded based on a broad array of standards covering a variety of types of service and achievements. These include (but are not limited to) improving the performance and/or morale of other civilian employees, showing initiative and creativity and developing new technologies or methods designed to produce cost or manpower savings, performing duties in such a way as to set an example of excellence for other employees, displaying exceptional courage or steadfastness in an emergency, or providing unique, effective public-relations services.
In 2014, the Department of the Army revised its Army Civilian Service Medals program by modifying the nomenclature used for medals and awards so they more consistently matched their military counterparts. As a result of these changes, the Meritorious Civilian Service Award became the Superior Civilian Service Medal. The Army’s current award for meritorious service by civilian employees is known as the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal; it uses the red-and-white ribbon that was formerly employed for the Superior Civilian Service Award.