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AwardsPolicy change

New digital submission tool for civilian employee awards

MARADMIN 280/26·June 22, 2026·2 min read·Official source
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The Marine Corps has stood up a new digital submission process for civilian employee awards, effective immediately. HROs must now use two SharePoint links to submit and track honorary award nominations and retirement or career service awards. The old email-based process is gone. This interim guidance fills the gap while MCO 12451.2D is being revised.

Heads up: This one is aimed at HRO staff, not individual Marines. If you work in or support an HRO, read on. If you don't, this probably doesn't touch you directly.

Who it affects

This is directed at HROs that process civilian employee awards across the Marine Corps. It does not create action items for individual SMCR, IMA, or IRR Marines unless you work in a manpower or HR billet that handles civilian awards packages.

What you need to do

If you work in or support an HRO, stop using the old email submission process immediately and shift to the appropriate SharePoint link below.

For SECNAV Length of Service Awards (40+ years), CMC retirement letters (30+ years of federal service), and SECNAV retirement certificates (40+ years of federal service), use the retirement and career service awards list. For all civilian honorary award nominations (Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and higher-level DOD/DON awards), use the honorary awards nominations list.

The MARADMIN contains both SharePoint URLs, but they are formatted with "(slash)" substitutions in the source text and may not copy cleanly. Contact the POC directly for confirmed working links:

SMB_CIVILIAN_AWARDS@usmc.mil

If you are not in an HRO role, nothing to do. Just know the process changed if it ever comes up.

Key dates

  • Effective: Immediately (released 17 June 2026)
  • Expires: When the revised MCO 12451.2D is published or this MARADMIN is cancelled

The official version

See MARADMIN 280/26 for the full text. The governing order being revised is MCO 12451.2D, "Honorary Awards for Civilian Employees."

This is written by a reservist, for reservists. It is not an official publication of HQMC or MARFORRES. Always verify guidance with your command or unit S-1 before acting on any article or summary.

Resources & references

The documents this bulletin points to, with a plain-English note on why each matters. Links marked CAC required need a government login.

  • DoD Honorary Awards Program for Civilian Employees (DoDI 1400.25, Vol 451, Ch 2)Reference

    This DoD instruction governs the honorary awards program for Department of Defense civilian employees. It is one of the authoritative references underpinning the civilian awards program described in this MARADMIN.

  • Department of the Navy Civilian Human Resources Manual 451-02Reference

    This DON manual provides guidance on implementing the civilian awards program at the Navy/Marine Corps level. It is a foundational reference for the honorary awards process described in this MARADMIN.

  • Marine Corps Honorary Awards for Civilian Employees Order (MCO 12451.2D)Reference

    This Marine Corps Order is the primary governing document for the civilian honorary awards program. This MARADMIN notes it is under revision and provides interim guidance to fill the gap until the updated order is published.

  • SharePoint Portal for Retirement and Career Service AwardsCAC required

    This is the new mandatory digital submission tool for SECNAV Length of Service Awards (40+ years), CMC retirement letters (30+ years of Federal service), and SECNAV retirement certificates (40+ years of Federal service). HROs must use this portal instead of the old email-based process.

  • SharePoint Portal for Civilian Honorary Award NominationsCAC required

    This is the new mandatory digital submission tool for all civilian honorary award nomination packages, including the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and higher-level DoD and DON awards. HROs must use this portal instead of the old email-based process.

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