Instituted 28 October 1974, this medal was given to a soldier in any of the Soviet armed forces for valor, bravery, or self-sacrifice in the line of duty. It is one of the highest military awards the USSR had.

Consists of crossed blue and silver four-pointed stars, crossed missles (representing the Stategic Rocket Forces), Pilot's wings (The Air Force), A double-fluted anchor (The Navy) and A five-pointed star (The USSR and the Red Army), and a circle of white bearing a Russian inscription (What it says I don't know, I'll go look it up.)