DOVER, Del. — U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a leading Senate voice on the critical role the National Guard plays in our security, received the National Guard Association of the United States’ Charles Dick Medal of Merit on Saturday at Dover Downs.  The prestigious award, also given to Governor Jack Markell, was presented at the Delaware National Guard’s Annual Senior Leaders Conference.

“Today’s National Guard delivers on its unique dual mission of keeping us safe both at home and abroad by standing ready to respond to domestic emergencies like natural disasters and deploying overseas to serve our country in foreign conflicts,” Senator Coons said. “If we are going to meet the complex national security challenges of the 21st century, we need the National Guard. I am honored to accept the Charles Dick Medal of Merit on behalf of all of the Delaware National Guard troops who sacrifice so much for our state and our country. I am committed to continuing to work together to ensure the National Guard has the tools and resources they need to succeed.”

"We in the Delaware National Guard have always recognized and appreciated the ardent support of Senator Coons,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, Adjutant General, Delaware National Guard.  “Receiving this award shows his support is also being recognized on a national level."

Criteria for the award state that:

  • An individual must have distinguished him/herself over an extended period of time in their support to the National Guard through service in a state or national elected legislative body.
  • Superior performance of normal duty alone does not justify award of this medal.  An individual must have provided exceptionally strong support to the National Guard to clearly merit this medal.
  • The support of the individual must be such that it has had a lasting effect on the future of the National Guard.  The positive affect and the results of the act should outlast the tenure in office of the individual.

Former Delaware winners of the Charles Dick Medal of Merit include Mike Castle, Joe Biden, Tom Carper and Ruth Ann Minner.

The Charles Dick Medal of Merit was established in 1988 and is designed to recognize the contributions to the National Guard by elected representatives to legislative bodies at the state and national levels.  The medal is named in honor of Major General Charles Dick, National Guard Association of the United States president from 1902 to 1909, a major general in the Ohio National Guard, a Congressman and later a Senator.  Major General Dick was responsible for the Dick Acts of 1903 and 1908 that established the foundation of the modern National Guard.

###