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Executive Order 10163 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 10163—The Armed Forces Reserve Medal

Harry S Truman Harry S Truman
•
Monday, September 25, 1950
•
3 min read (555 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1950-09-25, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "The Armed Forces Reserve Medal." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ There is hereby established the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, with accompanying appurtenances and devices, for award to members and former members of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States as hereinafter provided.
▪ The Armed Forces Reserve Medal shall be awarded in lieu of the Naval Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve Medals for service performed after twenty years from the date on which such medals were established.
▪ Subject to the provisions of this order, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal shall be awarded under such regulations as the Secretaries of the military departments of the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Treasury shall severally prescribe.
▪ Such regulations shall, so far as practicable, be of uniform application, and regulations issued pursuant to this order by the Secretaries of the military departments of the Department of Defense shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Total Words
555
3,239 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
24.9
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10163, Harry S Truman (Sep 25, 1950). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10163-the-armed-forces-reserve-medal.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States and as commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. There is hereby established the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, with accompanying appurtenances and devices, for award to members and former members of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States as hereinafter provided. 2. The Armed Forces Reserve Medal shall be of such design as the Secretary of Defense shall approve: Provided, That the obverse face of the medal shall be of the same design in all cases, and the reverse face shall be distinctive in design with respect to each reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the Coast Guard Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve: And provided further, That the reverse face of the medal to be awarded to members of the Coast Guard Reserve shall be of such design as the Secretary of the Treasury shall approve. 3. The Armed Forces Reserve Medal may be awarded to members or former members of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United States, including the Coast Guard Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve, who complete, or have completed, a total of ten years of honorable service in one or more of such reserve components, including annual active-duty and inactive-duty training as required by appropriate regulations: Provided, (1) That such ten years of service is, or has been, performed within a period of twelve consecutive years, (2) that any medal awarded hereunder shall be of the design distinctive of the reserve component in which the person to whom it is awarded is serving at the time of the award or in which he last service, (3) that such service shall not include service in a regular component of the armed forces, including the Coast Guard, and (4) that such service shall not include service for which the naval Reserve Medal or the Marine Corps Reserve Medal has been, or may be, awarded. 4. Not more than one Armed Forces Reserve Medal may be awarded to any one person, but for each succeeding ten-year period of service as above described a suitable device may be awarded, to be worn with the medal in accordance with appropriate regulations. 5. A member of a Naval or Marine Corps Reserve component who is eligible to receive a Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve Medal may at his election be awarded, in lieu of such medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal. 6. The Armed Forces Reserve Medal shall be awarded in lieu of the Naval Reserve and the Marine Corps Reserve Medals for service performed after twenty years from the date on which such medals were established. 7. Subject to the provisions of this order, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal shall be awarded under such regulations as the Secretaries of the military departments of the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Treasury shall severally prescribe. Such regulations shall, so far as practicable, be of uniform application, and regulations issued pursuant to this order by the Secretaries of the military departments of the Department of Defense shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, September 25, 1950