Marine Corps · Awards & Recognition · NAVMC 11533 (EF), 12-12 edition

NAVMC 11533: Personal Award Recommendation (USMC)

The Marine Corps personal award recommendation, block by block as it appears in iAPS, plus the summary of action and citation that go with it.

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Every block on the NAVMC 11533 (EF)

Laid out block for block like the official PERSONAL AWARD RECOMMENDATION (12-12 edition), with the instruction for each block. Name, rank, and unit prefill from your service profile.

Routing

  • FROM: (Title and Address)

    The billet and command of the originator.

  • TO: (Awarding Authority)

    The billet and command authorized to approve the recommended award. Check your command's awards order.

  • Command POC

    Email of the command point of contact or organizational mailbox; it receives copies of every endorsement.

  • Phone Number

Recommended individual

  • 1
    EDIPI / SSN

    Enter without spaces or hyphens. Cannot be changed once saved in iAPS.

  • 2
    DESIG/NEC/MOS

    For Marines, the MOS. DESIG and NEC apply to Navy personnel.

  • 4
    COMPONENT (USN, USMC, etc.)
  • 3
    NAME (Last, First, MI)

    Last name and suffix, a comma, first name, middle initial. Cannot be changed once saved.

  • 5
    GRADE/RANK
  • 6
    WARFARE DESIGNATOR (Navy Only)

    Leave blank for Marines unless the Marine is a Naval Aviator or Naval Flight Officer.

  • 7
    RUC

Award

  • 8
    RECOMMENDED AWARD

    Cannot be changed once saved. Endorsers may recommend a different award in block 23.

  • 9
    SPECIFIC ACHIEVEMENT

    Yes when block 15 is marked Impact Award.

  • 11
    NUMBER OF AWARD OF RECOMMENDED MEDAL

    1 for a first award; 2 or higher for gold stars in lieu of subsequent awards.

  • 10
    TYPE
  • 12
    ACTION DATE/MERITORIOUS PERIOD: from

    YYYYMMDD. For retirement or end-of-service awards, the end is the last day of service, not the start of terminal leave.

  • to
  • 13
    GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF ACTION/SERVICE
  • 14
    EXP OF ACTIVE DUTY

    The Marine's EAS/ECC, or indefinite.

  • 15
    EST. DETACHMENT DATE

    The expected presentation or ceremony date.

  • Reason
  • IF RETIREMENT, NO. OF YEARS
  • 16
    NEW DUTY STATION (Home address if separation anticipated)

Service

  • 17
    UNIT AT TIME OF ACTION/SERVICE
  • 18
    DUTY ASSIGNMENT
  • 19
    PREVIOUS PERSONAL DECORATIONS AND PERIOD RECOGNIZED

    Award code and action period, e.g. NA 1903-2006. Personal decorations only: no GCM, campaign medals, Purple Heart, or CAR.

  • 20
    PERSONAL AWARDS RECOMMENDED-NOT YET APPROVED
  • 21
    OTHER PERSONNEL BEING RECOMMENDED FOR SAME ACTION

Originator

  • 22
    I certify that the facts contained in the summary of action are
  • NAME, GRADE, TITLE OF ORIGINATOR / DATE

Endorsements

  • 23
    FORWARDING ENDORSEMENTS BY VIA ADDRESSEE(S)

    The originator enters the via addressees (billets, not names). Each endorser records the award they recommend and signs electronically in iAPS.

  • 24
    TO BE COMPLETED BY AWARDING AUTHORITY: DISPOSITION OF BASIC RECOMMENDATION / SIGNATURE, GRADE, TITLE / DATE

    Only an authorized approval authority signs block 24.

Summary of action and citation (separate document)

  • Summary of Action

    The form's note says to submit the SOA and citation as a separate document. Write specific, quantified bullets, full dates, and spell out every acronym on first use.

  • Proposed citation

    Follow the award's style: NAM and NCM in all capital letters, about 8 lines; MSM and LOM in natural capitalization. Use the mandatory opening and closing sentences from your command's awards order. Month and year only, no acronyms.

Draft / worksheet aid. Prepare it here, then transcribe into iAPS (Improved Awards Processing System); approved awards are archived by CMC (MMMA) into the OMPF. This is not an official submission. Check it against the current official NAVMC 11533 (EF) before use.

How to fill out the NAVMC 11533 (EF)

Marine Corps personal awards (NAM, NCM, MSM, LOM and the Certificate of Commendation) are recommended on the NAVMC 11533 inside iAPS, with a summary of action (SOA) and a proposed citation. This template replaces the earlier OPNAV 1650/3 entry: OPNAV 1650/3 is the Navy's form, and Marine commands use the NAVMC 11533 in iAPS. When: Before a PCS, retirement, or end of service (submit early enough to present before detachment, often 60-90 days by command policy), or promptly after a specific achievement or heroic act.

Step by step

  1. Gather the facts first: dates, billets, numbers, and results from FITREPs, counselings, and the Marine's supervisors.
  2. Fill the blocks in iAPS. Name, EDIPI, and recommended award cannot be changed once saved, so check them.
  3. Set the action period (block 12) and the reason (block 15: retirement, transfer, terminal leave, or impact award) with the detachment or ceremony date.
  4. Write the SOA as specific bullets, spelling out every acronym the first time.
  5. Write the citation in the required style for the award, using the mandatory opening and closing sentences.
  6. Certify the facts in block 22, route to each via addressee, and track it until the awarding authority acts in block 24.

What a strong one looks like

  • Use hard numbers and complete dates in the SOA; use only month and year in the citation.
  • Do not put anything in the citation that is not in the SOA, and no acronyms in the citation.
  • Respect the length limits: NAM and NCM citations run about 8 lines (1,250 characters in iAPS); MSM about 1,800 characters.
  • Read the citation aloud before routing. If it does not sound like something you would want read at your own formation, rewrite it.

Common mistakes

  • Commonly missed blocks: awarding authority, estimated date of detachment, retirement/transfer/terminal leave/impact, duty assignment, awards recommended not yet approved, and other personnel recommended for the same action.
  • Periods that overlap a previous award for the same service.
  • Using the terminal leave date as the end of the period for an end-of-service award. Use the last day of service.
  • Submitting too late for the ceremony. Retroactive awards take far longer.
References: SECNAV M-1650.1, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual; MCO 1650.19J W/CH 1, Administrative and Issue Procedures for Decorations, Medals, and Awards; Local command awards orders (awarding authorities, citation formats); OPNAV 1650/3 (Rev. AUG 2024) is the Navy's form, used when a Navy command originates the award Checked against the official source: Sep 2026 Official blank form

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