Pa. Guard introduces two new state awards

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Shane Smith | The Pennsylvania Veterans Service Award (left) and the Pennsylvania Achievement Medal (right) are two new state awards that may now be awarded to Pennsylvania National Guard members and other qualifying individuals.  

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, UNITED STATES

02.27.2019

Story by Sgt. Shane Smith 

Joint Force Headquarters - Pennsylvania National Guard

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The Pennsylvania National Guard has introduced two new state awards that may now be awarded to Pennsylvania National Guard members and other qualifying individuals.

The Pennsylvania Achievement Medal and the Pennsylvania Veterans Service Award join an array of 16 other Pennsylvania state-specific awards, bringing the new total to 18.

The Pennsylvania Achievement Medal may be awarded to civilians, members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and members of the Armed Forces of the United States or their reserve components in recognition of meritorious service or achievement rendered to the Commonwealth of a lesser degree than required for award of the Pennsylvania Commendation Medal. This award features the rampant lion on a bronze medal. The ribbon is striped and colored gold, blue, and green. The Pennsylvania Achievement Medal will be worn after the Pennsylvania Commendation Medal and before the Pennsylvania Recruiting and Retention Medal.

With the introduction of the Pennsylvania Achievement Medal, the Pennsylvania National Guard may now award four tiers of state-specific awards based on an individual’s level of achievement, which is in line with the United States Armed Forces’ award structure: Distinguished Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Commendation Medal, and Achievement Medal.

The first individual to receive the Pennsylvania Achievement Medal was Maj. Jennifer Philson during a ceremony at Ft. Indiantown Gap Feb. 26, 2019. Philson served as the primary Pennsylvania National Guard G1 lead on the development and creation of these two new state awards. She also assisted the Pennsylvania Legislative Office in preparing the new Pennsylvania Law that passed last year officially creating the new awards.

The Pennsylvania Veterans Service Award may be awarded to civilians, members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and members of other foreign or domestic active or reserve military components of the Armed Forces for meritorious support to Veterans of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This award features a portrait of Abraham Lincoln on a wheat wreath below the words ‘FOR HIM WHO SHALL HAVE BORNE THE BATTLE’ on a bronze medal. The ribbon is striped and colored gold, blue, and black. The Pennsylvania Veterans Service Award will be worn after the First Sergeant Ribbon and before the Pennsylvania MG Thomas R. White Jr. Medal.

The first individual to receive the Pennsylvania Veterans Service Award was Master Sgt. John Karpovich, Pennsylvania National Guard G1 Operations Section Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, during a ceremony in Grantville Dec. 2, 2018. Karpovich received the award for serving on the Wyoming Valley Veterans Day Parade Committee for 18 years, for volunteering with American Veterans Post 59 and American Legion Post 395, and for working as a board member of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Veterans Multicare Alliance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Lt. Col. Keith Hickox at [phone], or e-mail [e-mail]

• Date Taken: 02.27.2019
• Date Posted: 02.27.2019 16:01
• Story ID: 312132
• Location: FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PA, US