Every day, public safety officers risk their lives to protect America’s citizens and communities.
To honor that commitment, Congress passed The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor Act of 2001, which created the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is seeking nominations for the Medal of Valor now through Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
Public safety officers can be nominated by their agency heads for any qualifying event between June 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019.
The BJA nomination period closes on July 31, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. EDT.
AST is also accepting Nominations for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program, which will be honored on November 20, 2019 at ISC East, held at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC, featuring Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, of the New York Police Department (NYPD), the Boston Police Department (BPD) and former chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor from BJA is the nation’s highest public safety honor that can be awarded to emergency medical personnel, firefighters and law enforcement officers.
This award honors federal, state, local and tribal public safety officers who have demonstrated exceptional bravery, risking serious injury or death, in the line of duty.
Likewise the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program is specifically designed to honor distinguished government public safety officers and vendor solutions that deliver enhanced value, benefit and intelligence to end users in a variety of government, homeland security, enterprise and public safety vertical markets.
The Annual ‘ASTORS’ Awards is the preeminent U.S. Homeland Security Awards Program highlighting the most cutting-edge and forward-thinking security solutions coming onto the market today, to ensure our readers have the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, and keep our Nation safe – one facility, street, and city at a time.
Agency heads may submit multiple nominations to honor several officers or to honor one officer for multiple separate events.
Medal of Valor Overview
(Created in 2001 by Congress, the Medal of Valor recognizes extraordinary acts of heroism and bravery on the part of our nation’s public safety officers. Courtesy of the Office of Justice Programs and YouTube.)
The medal is awarded annually by the President or Vice President to public safety officers who have exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.
A “public safety officer” is a person (living or deceased) who is serving or has served in a public agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter; law enforcement officer, including a corrections, court, or civil defense officer; or emergency services officer, as determined by the U.S. Attorney General.
An act of valor is defined as:
- Above and beyond the call of duty; and
- Exhibiting
- exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind.
- unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her personal safety, in an attempt to save or protect human life.
For help in writing your Medal of Honor nominations, read the nomination guidelines and stories of past recipients at the Medal of Valor website.
2018 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program Overview
(Learn More about the American Security Today Annual ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program. Courtesy of AST and YouTube.)
The 2018 ‘ASTORS’ Awards Program drew an overwhelming response from industry leaders with a record high number of corporate and government nominations received, as well as record breaking ‘ASTORS’ Presentation Luncheon Attendees, with top firms trying to register for the exclusive high – end luncheon and networking opportunity – right up to the event kickoff on Wednesday afternoon, at the ISC East registration!
Over 130 distinguished guests representing National, State and Local Governments, and Industry Leading Corporate Firms, gathered from across North America, Europe and the Middle East to be honored among their peers in their respective fields which included:
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Federal Protective Service (FPS)
- Argonne National Laboratory
- The Department of Homeland Security
- The Department of Justice
- The Security Exchange Commission Office of Personnel Management
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Viasat, Hanwha Techwin, Lenel, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, Verint, Canon U.S.A., BriefCam, Pivot3, Milestone Systems, Allied Universal, Ameristar Perimeter Security and More!
The 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland Security Awards Program is Proudly Sponsored by ATI Systems, Attivo Networks, Automatic Systems, and Desktop Alert.
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 ‘ASTORS’ Homeland SecurityAwards at https://americansecuritytoday.com/ast-awards/.
Comprehensive List of Categories Include:
| Access Control/ Identification | Personal/Protective Equipment | Law Enforcement Counter Terrorism |
| Perimeter Barrier/ Deterrent System | Interagency Interdiction Operation | Cloud Computing/Storage Solution |
| Facial/IRIS Recognition | Body Worn Video Product | Cyber Security |
| Video Surveillance/VMS | Mobile Technology | Anti-Malware |
| Audio Analytics | Disaster Preparedness | ID Management |
| Thermal/Infrared Camera | Mass Notification System | Fire & Safety |
| Metal/Weapon Detection | Rescue Operations | Critical Infrastructure |
| License Plate Recognition | Detection Products | And Many Others! |
Don’t see a Direct Hit for your Officer, Team, Product, Agency or Organization?
Submit your category recommendation for consideration to Michael Madsen, AST Publisher at: mmadsen@americansecuritytoday.com.
For an example (see below), one of multiple nominations for the New York State (NYS) Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES), a new competitor in the Annual ‘ASTORS’ Program, which delivers enhanced training and development opportunities to benefit first responders and the communities in which they serve.
NYS DHSES Swift Water & Flooding Training Facility in 2019 ‘ASTORS’
