Honour medal of Foreign Affairs military personnel for acts of courage in favour of the French in time of war. Although still bestowed in wartime for courage, the modern award is now aimed at rewarding civil servants of the ministry for Foreign Affairs. Currently, the Honour medal of Foreign Affairs is intended to reward honorable service by French diplomats and civil servants stationed outside of France. It can also be awarded to French nationals and foreigners for exceptional service to France or that have accomplished acts of courage in assistance to French nationals either in peace or wartime. Military awards are often bestowed on order
Legion of Honour distinctions (') are awarded for bravery (') or for service. For active-duty commissioned officers, the Legion of Honour award for service is achieved after 20 years of meritorious service, having been awarded the rank of of the . Bravery awards lessen the time needed for the award—in fact decorated servicemen become directly chevaliers of the , skipping the . NCOs almost never achieve that award, except for the most heavily decorated service members. Collective appointments can be made to military units. In the case of a military unit, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight, which is