The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States of America military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United States armed forces or other Uniformed services. There is also the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service which is the highest medal that can be awarded to a career government employee.
The Distinguished Service Medal is issued both as a military decoration and civilian award. The Army version of the Distinguished Service Medal is typically referred to simply as the "Distinguished Service Medal" while the other branches of service use the service name as a prefix. The following versions (awarded by the agency or department head) of the Distinguished Service Medal are currently issued by the United States government:
The U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force use the term, Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service for its highest honorary award: