If you’ve ever stood beside a veteran at an air show, watching them trace the edges of a dented, well-worn aviation medal pinned to their uniform, or received a shiny new one to mark your own milestone in aviation—say, a first solo flight, or a decade of accident-free cargo runs—you’ve probably wondered: how on earth do these little pieces of metal end up with those specific designs, names, and meanings? As a supplier that’s been making aviation medals for over 12 years, I get this question all the time. I’ve sat across from pilots, military officers, and even civilian flight instructors who hand me a sketch of a custom design and ask, “Is this going to be official?” The truth is, aviation medals aren’t just random trinkets—they’re steeped in rules, history, and a whole lot of careful paperwork, and that process varies a tiny bit depending on whether we’re talking military, civilian, or private group medals. Medals
Let’s start with the big one: military aviation medals, because that’s where most of our formal medal traditions come from. The United States military, for example, has a strict chain of command that decides who qualifies for what. If an Air Force pilot completes a 100 combat mission tour over Afghanistan, they don’t just get a medal automatically—their squadron commander has to submit a nomination package to the Air Force Personnel Center, complete with flight logs, mission debriefs, and statements from other crew members confirming the details. The package gets reviewed by a board of senior officers, who check for two main things: did the person meet the specific criteria written for that medal, and did they demonstrate a level of skill or bravery that goes above and beyond regular duty?
Take the Distinguished Flying Cross, for instance. The official criteria, laid out in Title 10 of the U.S. Code, say it’s for “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.” That’s not just “flying well”—it’s something like landing a crippled jet in a populated area without causing civilian casualties, or navigating through a storm to rescue a downed comrade when every other pilot turned back. A lot of people assume medals are just given for completing a tough tour, but that’s not the case. The Air Medal, which is for meritorious achievement during routine flight, requires a certain number of hours or missions, but even that has layers: a single merit award for 20 hours of combat flight, then Oak Leaf Clusters for each additional 20, and eventually a bronze, silver, or gold star if you do multiple tours. I’ve seen nomination packages get sent back three times because the flight logs were missing a single entry or the statement from a wingman didn’t clearly explain what made the mission special.
Civilian aviation medals are a whole different beast, and that’s where most of the custom orders we get come in. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) doesn’t issue formal medals for civilian achievements, but there are private organizations that do—like the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), or the Order of Daedalians, a group for military and civilian pilots who’ve flown 500 or more combat hours. CAP, which is the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, has its own award program for things like aerospace education, search and rescue missions, or cadet training. The process here is a lot less rigid than military medals, but it still follows guidelines. If a CAP squadron wants to give a medal to a volunteer who led a youth camp, they have to submit a nomination to CAP National Headquarters, detailing the work the volunteer did, how it fit CAP’s mission, and get a sign-off from the group’s commander.
We also get a lot of orders from flight schools, airline pilot unions, and even small aviation museums. A regional airline might approach us to create a custom medal for their pilots who’ve reached their 20th anniversary with the company, and they don’t have to go through a federal board—they just need to create a set of criteria: 20 years of employment, 10,000 accident-free flight hours, and 10 positive performance reviews. The key here is that the organization has to clearly define what the medal is recognizing, so when it’s given out, everyone knows why it matters. I once worked with a small flight training school that wanted a medal for every student who passed their private pilot checkride on the first try. They spent weeks narrowing down the design—whether to put a tiny propeller or a checkered flag on the front, what to write on the back—because they wanted it to feel special, not just a generic gift.
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that there’s a big difference between an official medal and a commemorative medal, and buyers have to be clear about which one they want. Official military medals have strict specifications for design, size, ribbon color, and even the placement of medals on a uniform. The U.S. Institute of Heraldry approves every official military medal design, so if someone wants a Distinguished Flying Cross replica for a veteran’s display, we have to make sure every detail is exact: the exact shade of blue on the ribbon, the number of points on the wings, the size of the inscription. A lot of our veteran customers will send us a photo of the medal they earned, and we use that to replicate it perfectly, down to the slight wear and tear if they want it to look like the real thing. Commemorative medals, on the other hand, are more flexible—they’re for marking milestones, anniversaries, or events, and there’s no governing body that approves them, which is why we can work with groups to create something totally unique, like a medal for the 100th anniversary of a local airport, or for a cross-country flight by a group of student pilots.
Another common question is how campaign medals are determined. These are medals given for service during a specific war or operation, like the Iraq Campaign Medal or the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. The Department of Defense (DoD) decides when a new campaign medal is needed, based on when a military operation meets certain criteria: it has to be a sustained armed conflict, require personnel to deploy to a specific area, and have defined start and end dates. The DoD works with the Institute of Heraldry to design the medal—usually with a symbol that represents the operation, like a map of Afghanistan for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, or a globe for global operations. Once the design is approved, each branch of the military sets their own rules for who qualifies: for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, you have to have served 30 consecutive days in a designated combat zone, or 60 non-consecutive days, or been injured or killed during service there.
I’ve seen a lot of misinformation online about aviation medals, too. Some people think that if you fly through a hurricane, you get a medal, but that’s not always the case. The military has to show that the service was exceptional—maybe a rescue mission in the hurricane, not just routine flight. I had a Navy helicopter pilot come to me a few years ago who said he should get a medal for flying through Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to rescue people from flooded homes. He submitted a package, but the board decided it didn’t meet the criteria because the mission was part of his regular search and rescue duties, even though it was extra dangerous. Instead, they gave him a Navy Commendation Medal, which is a lower-level award for meritorious service, but it’s still a meaningful recognition of his work. That’s the thing about these processes: they’re designed to make sure medals are only given for things that truly stand out, not just for doing your job.
Working as a medal supplier has taught me how much history is tied up in every medal. The wings on most aviation medals go back to the very first flight medals, given to the earliest pilots in the 1910s, when flying was a brand-new, risky thing. The stars and bars on campaign medals come from military medals dating back hundreds of years. When we’re making a custom medal for a group, I always make sure to ask about the history behind the achievement they’re recognizing, because that helps make the medal feel more personal. Last year, we worked with a group of retired cargo pilots who wanted a medal to honor the pilots who flew supplies to Berlin during the Airlift of 1948-1949. They wanted the medal to have a tiny cargo plane and a barbed wire fence on the front, and we worked with them for three months to get every detail right, because those pilots’ stories are part of aviation history, and the medal had to do that justice.
If you’re someone who’s looking to get an aviation medal for an achievement you or your group has made, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, if it’s an official military medal, work through your chain of command—don’t try to get one privately, because official medals require formal nomination and approval. For civilian or commemorative medals, be clear about what you’re recognizing, what criteria you want to set, and what kind of design you have in mind. A good supplier will walk you through the process, help you make sure your medal is meaningful, and make sure it meets any guidelines if you need it to.
At the end of the day, aviation medals are more than just pieces of metal. They’re symbols of skill, bravery, dedication, and the love of flight. Every time I hand off a medal to a pilot, or work on a design for a group that’s honoring a veteran, I remember that: this small thing they’re holding is going to be a reminder of a moment they risked their life, or worked hard, or achieved something no one thought was possible. If you’re looking for a medal supplier that understands the history and the meaning behind aviation medals, and will work with you to create something that’s perfect for your needs, feel free to reach out to our team to discuss your project. We’ve worked with military branches, flight schools, veteran groups, and countless individuals, and we’re here to help you get the medal that honors whatever achievement you’re celebrating.
Brass Nameplate References
- 10 U.S. Code § 3746 – Distinguished Flying Cross
- Civil Air Patrol National Award Program Regulations, CAPR 67-1
- The Institute of Heraldry: Military Medal Design Guidelines
- Order of Daedalians: Membership and Award Eligibility Standards
- U.S. Department of Defense: Campaign Medal Eligibility Criteria for Operation Enduring Freedom
Hangzhou Ruijia Technology Co., Ltd.
Hangzhou Ruijia Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the leading medals manufacturers and suppliers in China. We offer a wide range of products with superior quality. Welcome to wholesale bulk discount medals in stock here and get free sample from our factory. Customized orders are welcome.
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