Annex A – Order of Military Merit (ORMM)

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Introduction

  1. The ORMM created in 1972 recognizes conspicuous merit and exceptional service by active members of the CF.
  2. The constitution governing appointments in the Order is reprinted in Annex A, Appendix 1.

Insignia

  1. The badge of the Order is a blue-enameled, straight-end cross pattée having four arms narrow at the centre and expanding towards the ends. The badge of the Commander and the Officer is gold, while that of the Member is silver. On the obverse is a maple leaf on a white enamel background encircled by a red ribbon bearing the words “Merit-Mérite-Canada”. The maple leaf is red for the Commander, gold for the Officer and silver for the Member. The ribbon is blue, edged with gold, and when worn as an undress ribbon, it carries a miniature cross of the appropriate colour and dimensions as those issued as lapel badges for wear on civilian clothes.
  2. On promotion within the Order, the miniature cross of the first appointment may be worn on the undress ribbon along with the cross or crosses representing subsequent promotions in accordance with an Ordinance to the Constitution. The cross for the highest appointment shall be worn farthest from the left shoulder.
  3. The insignia of the Order remain the property of the Order. On termination of membership as noted in the constitution, a badge of that membership reverts to the Order. The heirs of deceased members may retain the insignia as heirlooms or seek permission for it to be used for museum display as the Order might direct.

Nominations

  1. Nominations for appointment to the ORMM shall be submitted in accordance with Chapter 2. A guideline for composing the narrative portion of a nomination is shown in Annex A, Appendix 2.
  2. After the review of the ORMM in 2007, a number of important measures were approved to ensure that the ORMM remains a respected and worthy form of recognition to which all personnel can aspire:
    1. The level of appointment (CMM, OMM and MMM) is linked to merit and the level of responsibility of the nominee and not only the rank of the nominee.
    2. The interpretation of the rank in relation to the level of appointment is as follows:
      • (1) General and Flag Officers may be appointed as CMM;
      • (2) Senior officers from Lieutenant-Commander/Major (LCdr/Maj) to Captain (N)/Colonel may be appointed as OMM; consequently, a Commodore/Brigadier-General cannot be nominated for OMM but will be considered for CMM by the Council among with all General and Flag Officers, and LCdr/Maj cannot be nominated for MMM but only for OMM; and
      • (3) NCMs and junior officers up to the rank of Lieutenant(N)/Captain may be appointed as MMM. However, it is possible, usually trough promotion in the Order, for junior officers and NCMs to be appointed OMM provided outstanding achievements at a higher level of responsibility can be demonstrated.
    3. Appointments to the Order have been restored to the original 1972 proportions: 5% Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM), 20% Officer of the Order of Military Merit (OMM) and the remainder allocated to the Member of the Order of Military Merit (MMM) (refer to Appendix 1, paragraphs 12. and 15.).
    4. A broader distribution of nominees among all ranks in order for the ORMM to become more representative of CF demographics.
    5. Appropriate representation in every respect in order that the ORMM is truly representative of the demographics of the CF and Canada by the Commands (rank, gender, linguistic group, Regular and Primary Reserve Forces).
    6. Recognition of personnel at the peak of their career, with a window of 18 to 23 years of service as an appropriate benchmark to search for suitable candidates at all rank levels.
    7. Proportion of Primary Reserve appointments to be at a minimum of 20%.
    8. Appointment of at least one Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (COATS) and one Canadian Ranger every year.
  3. Service in an honorary rank or appointment is not recognized through the Order. Honorary appointments are public recognition and honours in their own right. Should the specific activities of an honorary appointee be well beyond those of peers in rank and experience, a recommendation for an appropriate decoration or commendation may be considered instead.
  4. Nominations for promotion to a higher level within the Order may be made for personnel of any military rank. By government convention, such appointments to a different order are not normally considered before five years have elapsed since the first appointment was made.
  5. Members must be on active service in the CF at the time of the yearly ORMM Advisory Council.
  6. The rank at time of nomination by the Command/Group Principals will be the rank used for crystallization of the award. If at time of nomination, the nominee holds an Acting Lacking rank and the person is promoted to that substantive rank before the meeting of the ORMM Advisory Council, that rank would be honoured; otherwise the last substantive rank held by the nominee will be used at the time the award is fixed (refer to Chapter 1).
  7. Each Command/Group Principal must have the nominee's career verified by the Career Manager prior to sending the package to DH&R.

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