Joint Staff Approves Humanitarian Service Medal for Hurricane Response

Special Report: DoD Hurricane Relief (Related Link)

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (Related Link)

Approved Humanitarian Service Medal Operations (Related Link)

Special Report: Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief (Related Link)

Special Report: Hurricane Irma Disaster Relief (Related Link)

Special Report: Hurricane Maria Disaster Relief (Related Link)

WASHINGTON —

Eligible military members who served in disaster relief efforts for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma or Maria are to receive the Humanitarian Service Medal.

Army Sgt. Delton Reynolds, left, a flight engineer with Joint Task Force Leeward Islands, joins a chain with local residents and members of the Jamaican defense force to unload relief supplies from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Wotten Waven, Dominica, Oct. 3, 2017. The aircraft delivered rice and kitchen sets from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the community. The Joint Staff has approved award of the Humanitarian Service Medal for eligible service members who participated in 2017 hurricane relief efforts. Each service determines individual eligibility. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Ian Leones

The Joint Staff recently approved the military honor for qualified members in any branch of the armed services. The military departments are responsible for determining individual eligibility. Service members are advised to direct any questions to their respective military department.

For Hurricane Harvey, the award period starts Aug. 23, 2017, and ends Oct. 31, 2017, for the geographic area of Texas and Louisiana.

The Texas counties are: Aransas, Austin, Bastrop, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Chambers, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Hardin, Harris, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, Refugio, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Tyler, Victoria, Waller and Wharton.

The Louisiana parishes are: Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, Vermilion and Vernon.

For Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the dates for eligibility run from Sept. 8, 2017, to Oct. 20, 2017, and cover the state of Florida and the Caribbean Sea and adjacent waters from Barbados northward to Anguilla, and then westward to the Florida Straits.

(Follow Lisa Ferdinando on Twitter: @FerdinandoDoD)

For more Joint Staff news, visit: www.jcs.mil.

Connect with Joint Staff on social media:

http://www.facebook.com/TheJointStaff
http://twitter.com/thejointstaff
http://www.youtube.com/thejointstaff
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thejointstaff
http://www.instagram.com/thejointstaff/