Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102
§9275 Medal of Honor; Air Force Cross; Distinguished-service Medal: Delegation of Power to Award
Title 10 › Subtitle D — Air Force and Space Force › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 937 — DECORATIONS AND AWARDS › § 9275
Summary
The President can let a field commander give the Medal of Honor, the Air Force Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal. This can be a commanding general in charge of a separate Air Force unit or a larger unit, or the matching commander for a separate Space Force unit or larger.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §9275
Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
The President may delegate his authority to award the medal of honor, Air Force cross, and distinguished-service medal, to a commanding general of a separate air force or higher unit in the field, or to an equivalent commander of a separate space force or higher unit in the field.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 874510:1410.July 9, 1918, ch. 143 (16th par., less words after semicolon, under “Ordnance Department”), 40 Stat. 872. The words “under such conditions,
Regulations
, and limitations as he shall prescribe” are omitted as surplusage. The words “his authority” are substituted for the words “the power conferred upon him by section 1403, 1406–1408, 1409–1412, 1416, 1420, 1422, 1423, and 1424 of this title”.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2021—Pub. L. 116–283 inserted before period at end “, or to an equivalent commander of a separate space force or higher unit in the field”. 2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 8745 of this title as this section. 1960—Pub. L. 86–593 substituted “Air Force cross” for “distinguished-service cross” in section catchline and in text.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of
Amendments
and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 9275
Title 10, Armed Forces
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102