2026 United Services Organization (USO) Service Member of the Year (SMOY) Award Announcement

1.  This MARADMIN announces and solicits nominations
for the 2026 United Services Organization (USO) Service Member of
the Year (SMOY) Award.
2.  Each year, the USO, Inc. Service Member of the Year Award honors
the outstanding contributions of America's service members who
represent the standards and values of their respective branches of
service, as demonstrated through a specific act(s) of heroism or
valor from 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025.
2.a.  The award recognizes a Marine within the ranks of private to
gunnery sergeant and second lieutenant to captain who:
2.a.1.  Demonstrates bravery and leadership in the course of his or
her service.
2.a.2.  Offers outstanding support and comfort to those with whom
they serve.
2.a.3.  Enhances morale and personal welfare of others.
2.a.4.  Through their mentorship, inspires other individuals or
groups.
3.  Nomination packages.  Nomination packages must contain these
elements:
3.a.  Commanding officer (CO) endorsement.  Each nominee's CO must
endorse the nomination and express a commitment to facilitate the
nominee's attendance at the award ceremony, if selected.
3.b.  2026 SMOY Nomination Form – Command.
3.c.  2026 SMOY Nominee Information Form.
3.d.  Detailed description of the honoree's act(s) of heroism.
Attach copies of any official letters of commendation, if available.
3.e.  Narrative Description.  Must be in a personal letter format,
contain no more than 500 words, meet the criteria specified in
paragraph 2.a, and highlight any recent deployments or achievements
and how those contributions benefited the military or civilian
community.
4.  Deadline.  Nominations must be received by the USO no later
than 30 January 2026 via email to the USO at SMOY@uso.org.
4.a.  For questions concerning the award or to request the 2026 SMOY
Nomination Form and Nominee Information Form, please send an email
to SMOY@uso.org.  For reference, a summary of last year's honorees is
available on our website: 
https://www.uso.org/stories/3948-meet-the-2025-uso-service-members
-of-the-year
4.b.  Please ensure that a current email address for the honoree
and/or the honoree's command is included.
4.c.  The USO will work with the honoree's command for notification,
official photo of honoree, and coordination of a special Service
Member of the Year awards ceremony at their duty station. USO will
aid in coordination of the awards ceremony at the command and will
request support for media requests.
4.d.  The selected honorees will be the 2026 USO SMOYs, and they
will be recognized as such at the 2026 USO Gala in Washington, DC,
on 16 April 2026.  After the gala, the USO will coordinate for award
presentation at the honoree's duty station.  The USO plans to
announce the honorees from all branches simultaneously and so will
retain release authority for public announcement.
5.  Release authorized by Col John Caldwell, Director of
Communication, Communication Directorate, Headquarters Marine
Corps.