The Air Force’s system of civilian awards and honors can be traced directly to its U.S. Army heritage. In 1947, the year it was established as a distinct and separate branch of the U.S. Military, the Air Force used the Army’s Exceptional Civilian Service Award as a way to honor civilians who had displayed great courage, provided strong leadership, or performed their duties in exceptional fashion. A year later, the Secretary of the Air Force established the same award, with the same criteria, to be awarded to civilians working with the Air Force to help it achieve mission goals. It would the only Air Force award available to civilians until 1954.
Today, there are numerous decorations for civilians lending their professional expertise and insights to the Air Force, all designed with two goals in mind: to give recognition to outstanding achievements and superior service, and to improve governmental and Air Force operations by providing extra motivation to reach new levels of excellence.
One of these is Exemplary Civilian Service Award (ECSA), which was established to individuals or groups that have provided clearly outstanding service in support of a command mission for at least one year. The award may also be given for a single act that in and of itself contributed significantly to the command mission.
Specifically, regulations require civilian, either singly or in a group, to successfully complete important command mission projects or achieve major command milestones. In doing so, they have gone above and beyond the level of service expected from individuals tasked with the same responsibilities. The ECSA may also be presented time of retirement, rewarding a long-term commitment to superior service and dedication to assisting a command achieve mission goals during an extended period of time.