If a sailor or Marine tells you they earned a NAM, they’re talking about the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Plenty of people still call it the Navy Achievement Medal, since that was its official name for nearly three decades.
So, is the Navy Achievement Medal a big deal? Yes, but context matters. It isn’t one of the military’s highest decorations, and it isn’t a valor award. It also isn’t a pat on the back for simply doing the job. A NAM recognizes work that clearly went beyond what’s expected for someone’s rank and experience, and stood out enough to be put on the official record.
If the NAM belongs to you, a parent, a grandparent, or another veteran in your family, the medal is only part of the story. The citation that came with it explains why it was earned, and that’s the piece worth keeping close.
What Is the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM)?
The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal is a personal military decoration for meritorious professional or leadership achievement. Most people just call it the NAM, or the NAM medal.
It can recognize a single accomplishment or a stretch of sustained, superior performance. Under the Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, the achievement has to clearly exceed what’s normally expected for the service member’s grade, training, and experience. Leadership achievement has to be noteworthy and make a real contribution to the unit’s mission.
The NAM can be awarded to qualifying service members in pay grades O-4 (lieutenant commander or major) and below. In plain terms, a NAM says this sailor or Marine did something worth formally putting on the record.
What Does the Navy Achievement Medal Look Like?
If you’re sorting through a veteran’s medals, the NAM is one of the easiest to spot. It’s a bronze rectangle with clipped corners. A fouled anchor (an anchor with its line wrapped around it) sits in the center, with a five-pointed star in each corner.
It hangs from a green ribbon with an orange stripe near each edge. That squared-off shape makes it easy to pick out from the round medals in a larger collection.
Is the Navy Achievement Medal Also a Marine Corps Medal?
Yes. The Navy and Marine Corps share it, which is why its official name includes both branches.
So when a Marine tells you, “I got a NAM,” they aren’t talking about a separate Marine Corps award. You’ll also hear it called the Marine Corps Achievement Medal or USMC Achievement Medal, but it’s the same decoration.
When Was the Navy Achievement Medal Created?
The award has gone by a few names since it started:
- May 1, 1961: established as a ribbon-only award, the Secretary of the Navy Commendation for Achievement
- July 17, 1967: the current medal was authorized, and the award became the Navy Achievement Medal
- August 19, 1994: renamed the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal to recognize the Marines who earn it
That’s why someone who served before 1994 may still call it the Navy Achievement Medal, while today’s official documents use the full name. Sailors and Marines shorten both to NAM, the same abbreviation the awards manual uses.
Is the Navy Achievement Medal a Big Deal?
Yes, though not because it’s rare or near the top of the order of precedence. What matters is what someone did to earn it.
A NAM can stand for exceptional work during an assignment, leadership that helped a command pull off an important mission, or a single achievement worth formal recognition. For a sailor or Marine, it can become one of those career moments they remember long after the assignment ends.
Ready to give one a place of honor? Our military medal frames and shadow boxes range from single-medal frames to displays built for a medal, certificate, and photo together.
What Is Higher Than a Navy Achievement Medal?
The next decoration up is the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. In the full order of precedence, the Joint Service Achievement Medal also sits just above the NAM.
NAM Medal Ranking at a Glance
Here’s how the NAM lines up with nearby awards on the Navy ribbon chart, from higher to lower:
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Air Medal
- Joint Service Commendation Medal
- Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
- Joint Service Achievement Medal
- Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM)
- Combat Action Ribbon
That doesn’t make the NAM a small thing. Precedence tells you where a medal is worn, not the story behind it.
Comparing across branches? Our Army Achievement Medal guide and Air Force Achievement Medal guide explain where each version ranks.
Can the Navy Achievement Medal Be Awarded for Combat?
Yes. A NAM can recognize meritorious service or achievement under qualifying combat conditions.
For service on or after January 7, 2016, a bronze “C” device, or Combat Conditions Device, may be added when the citation specifically recognizes service or achievement under combat conditions. Under Department of Defense rules, the service member must have been personally exposed to hostile action or at significant risk of it. Serving in a designated combat area isn’t enough on its own.
Even then, a NAM isn’t a valor award. Current Navy and Marine Corps rules state that it isn’t awarded for acts of valor or noncombat heroism, so “earned during combat operations” and “awarded for valor” aren’t the same thing.
What About a NAM With a “V” Device?
Looking through an older sailor’s or Marine’s awards, you may find a Navy Achievement Medal with a “V.” Earlier award rules allowed it on some NAMs. The Navy no longer authorizes the “V” on the NAM because it isn’t a valor award.
If an older NAM was officially awarded with a “V,” leave it on. It’s part of that service member’s history.
What Do the Stars and Devices on a NAM Ribbon Mean?
Small devices on the ribbon can tell you more about a service member’s awards:
- Gold stars: each one marks an additional NAM. A silver star stands in for five gold stars.
- “C”: the award recognized meritorious service or achievement under combat conditions.
- “V”: found on some older NAMs, under the rules in place at the time.
- “R”: the Remote Impact Device, for certain remotely performed actions that had a direct and immediate impact on military operations.
If you’re researching an inherited medal, don’t overlook these tiny devices. They can change what the medal tells you about a veteran’s service.
How to Display a Navy or Marine Corps Achievement Medal
A NAM means even more when it stays with the things that explain it. If you still have the citation, certificate, photos, rank insignia, patches, or ribbons from the same period, keep them together.
Keep the NAM With Its Citation or Certificate
The medal tells you someone was recognized. The citation tells you why. Decades from now, that document may be what helps a child or grandchild understand what their family member actually accomplished.
A certificate-and-medal frame works especially well because the award and its story stay together, instead of drifting into separate drawers.
Add a Photograph
A formal Navy or Marine Corps portrait is a natural choice, but it doesn’t have to be formal. A deployment photo, promotion picture, shipboard snapshot, or favorite photo from that time can tell an even more personal story. Suddenly you’re not looking at just a medal. You’re looking at the person who earned it.Display the Medal by Itself
Sometimes one medal is the whole story. A single-medal shadow box keeps the focus on the NAM, which can mean a lot for a first personal decoration or an award tied to an important assignment. A single-medal frame also makes a thoughtful going-away gift when a sailor or Marine leaves a command.Build a Larger Military Shadow Box
For a longer career, a larger shadow box gives you room for the whole story: medals and ribbons, rank insignia, warfare devices or badges, patches, challenge coins, a photo, service documents, and an engraved plate with a name, rank, or service dates. That’s the classic retirement shadow box, and it’s worth planning well before the ceremony. Arrange multiple decorations by order of precedence, not by size or looks. On a Navy or Marine Corps display, the NAM follows the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. For branch-specific options, browse our U.S. Navy frames and shadow boxes or U.S. Marine Corps frames and shadow boxes.
Why the Story Matters More Than the Rank
The NAM isn’t one of the military’s rarest decorations, and that’s not what makes it special. Someone’s work or leadership stood out enough that another person recommended it, documented it, and got it approved as part of that service member’s official record.
For one sailor, it might have been their first personal decoration. For a Marine, it might mark a deployment, a big assignment, or a leadership moment they’re still proud of decades later. That’s the part worth preserving.
Keep the medal, citation, photos, and other pieces from that time together whenever you can. Someday they may help another generation understand not just what the medal was, but what it took to earn it.
At militaryframes.com by Church Hill Classics, every frame and shadow box is handcrafted in our Connecticut facility to preserve military achievements and the stories behind them.
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal FAQs
What is a NAM, and what does it stand for?
NAM stands for Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. Many people still say Navy Achievement Medal, its official name from 1967 to 1994.
Is the Navy Achievement Medal a big deal?
Yes. It isn’t one of the highest decorations, but it’s formal recognition that a sailor’s or Marine’s professional or leadership achievement clearly went beyond normal expectations.
Is there a separate Marine Corps Achievement Medal?
No. Marines and sailors share the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, which is why a Marine will say they earned a NAM.
What does the “C” on a Navy Achievement Medal mean?
The bronze “C” is the Combat Conditions Device. It shows the NAM recognized meritorious service or achievement under qualifying combat conditions. It doesn’t make the NAM a valor award.
Can someone earn more than one NAM?
Yes. Each additional award is shown with a gold star on the ribbon, and a silver star stands in for five.
What’s the difference between a NAM and a Navy Commendation Medal?
The Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal is one step up. It covers achievement or service at a higher level than a NAM, and unlike the NAM, it can carry a “V” for valor.
Is the NAM the same as the Navy and Marine Corps Medal?
No. The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is a separate, much higher award: the Navy’s highest decoration for heroism outside of combat. The names are easy to mix up, so check the full name on the certificate or citation.
How do I replace a lost or damaged NAM?
Our guide to replacing lost or stolen military medals walks you through who can request a replacement and how.
How can I find out why a family member received a NAM?
Start with the citation or certificate. If it’s missing, you can request the veteran’s service records from the National Archives. Those records list the awards earned and can include the paperwork behind them.
What should you display with a NAM?
The citation or certificate is one of the most valuable pieces to keep with the medal, since it explains why the award was earned. A photo, ribbons, other medals, rank insignia, and keepsakes from the same period add even more context.
Honor the achievement and preserve the story behind it with a handcrafted military frame or shadow box.
