| King's Commendation for Valuable Service | |
|---|---|
 Ribbon device | |
| Type | Merit award |
| Awarded for | Meritorious service in an operational theatre |
| Description | Ribbon device |
| Presented by | theUnited Kingdom |
| Eligibility | Personnel of the Armed Forces |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Established | 1994 |
.JPG)
TheKing's Commendation for Valuable Service is a British military award for meritorious service in anoperational theatre.[1] It was established in 1994,[2] when the award of theQueen's Commendation for Brave Conduct and theQueen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air were discontinued.[3]
A King’s Commendation for Valuable Service is open to all ranks of theBritish Armed Forces for meritorious service, not in the face of an enemy, in an operational theatre. It is the lowest level of merit award, classed as 'level 4', alongside aMention in Dispatches and other King's Commendations. The award does not entitle the holder to anypost nominal letters.[4]
A King’s Commendation for Valuable Service can be awarded posthumously.[1]
The holder is entitled to wear an emblem of a spray of silver oak leaves. This should be worn in a similar manner to amention in despatches. If awarded for services in a theatre for which acampaign medal has been granted, it is worn on the ribbon of the appropriate medal. If the award is made for services where no campaign medal has been granted, the emblem is to be worn directly on the coat after any medal ribbons.[5]
From 2003, in addition to British campaign medals, commendation and mention in despatches devices can be worn on United Nations, NATO and EU medals.[2] Originally only one commendation or mention in dispatches emblem of each category could be worn on any one medal ribbon.[6] In a change introduced in 2014, those with multiple awards may wear up to three of each commendation and mention in dispatch devices on a single campaign medal and ribbon bar.[7]
This table summarises the various King's and Queen's Commendations awarded by the United Kingdom:
| Period | For Bravery | For Bravery (Air) | For valuable service | For valuable service (Air) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 - 1952[8] | King's Commendation for Brave Conduct | – | – | King’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air |
| 1952 - 1994[9] | Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct | – | – | Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air |
| 1994 - 2022[1] | Queen's Commendation for Bravery | Queen's Commendation for Bravery in the Air | Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service | – |
| 2022 - present | King's Commendation for Bravery | King's Commendation for Bravery in the Air | King's Commendation for Valuable Service | – |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Orders of chivalry |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military gallantry/bravery decorations |
| ||||||||||||
| Distinguished service decorations |
| ||||||||||||
| Civil bravery decorations |
| ||||||||||||
| Nursing service | |||||||||||||
| Meritorious service | |||||||||||||
_Ribbon.png)
_Ribbon.png)
.svg)
_UK_ribbon.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
_UK.png)
_UK.png)
ribbon.jpg)
_ribbon.png)
