Military Decoration for gallantry or exceptional devotion

The Military Decoration (Militair Ereteken, Décoration Militaire) is a military award of the Kingdom of Belgium. It was established on December 23, 1873 and is awarded to military personnel of the Belgian Armed Forces for gallantry or Exceptional devotion to duty.

Award Criteria
The medal (Militair ereteken voor buitengewone dienst of voor daad van moed of toewijding Décoration militaire pour service exceptionnel ou acte de courage ou de dévouement) can be awarded to any military member of the Belgian Armed Forces who distinguished himself due to exceptional service or due to the performance of an act of gallantry or devotion. It can also be awarded to personnel below the rank of Officer for 20 years of active duty aboard Belgian Navy Vessels. The first class of the medal can be awarded in exceptional circumstances to Officers on Non-Commissioned Officers. Enlisted personnel cannot be awarded the first class of the medal.

Contrary to popular belief, the first class of the medal is not reserved for acts of gallantry causing loss of life of the awardee. The only additional requirement that is required to be eligible to the first class of the medal is that the acts performed were 'very exceptional'.

In order to be eligible for an award, the award proposal must be made within 5 years after the occurrence of the gallant act.

Appearance
The medal is identical to its counterpart created by the same Royal Decree, the military decoration for Long service. It is a gilt cross pattée surmounted by the royal crown of Belgium with four rays between the cross arms. The obverse bears a circular central medallion with a Belgian lion and a circular relief inscription. This inscription is the Belgian motto (Unity makes Strength) and used to be solely in France (surrounding the centered lion completely) but carries since July 8, 1952 the motto both in Dutch (eendracht maakt macht) in the upper half and in French (l'union fait la force) in the lower half of the circle. The reverse is identical except for the central medallion, which used to be the royal monogram of the reigning monarch at time of the award surrounded by the relief inscription "ARMÉE * MÉRITE * ANCIENNETÉ" ("ARMY * MERIT * SENIORITY"). Since July 8, 1952, only a Belgian lion is depicted, without surrounding text or reference to the reigning monarch. The medal is suspended by a ring through the suspension loop to a silk moiré red ribbon, with at each border 1 longitudinal stripe of red, yellow and black.

As it was created with the same Royal Decree and carries the same jewel (only the ribbon differs) as the military decoration for Long service, it used to be known as an 'Article 4' award.

Devices
On the ribbon an inverted gilt chevron is affixed when the first class of the medal is awarded. When the medal is awarded during wartime (which hasn't happened since the end of the Korean War), a silver palm bearing a Royal Monogram was attached to the ribbon.

Specificities
Nowadays, the criteria for exceptional devotion to duty are considered being met, and the second class of the medal is thus awarded, after 20 years of active service aboard Belgian Navy vessels. In the period 2009-2013, the Military Decoration for Exceptional Service or Acts of Courage or Devotion second class was awarded 58 times, mostly for exceptional devotion to duty (see below). During the same period, the Military Decoration for Exceptional Service or Acts of Courage or Devotion first class was not awarded.