Armed Forces Reserve Medal The Armed Forces Reserve Medal is a service medal of the United States Armed Forces that has existed since 1950 . The medal recognizes service performed by members of the reserve components and is awarded to both officers and enlisted personnel . The medal is considered a successor award to the Naval Reserve Medal and the Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon , which were discontinued in 1958 and 1967 respectively . If the medal is awarded for periods of service , it is accompanied by an hourglass device . Depending on the length of service , a bronze , silver , gold , or bronze and gold hourglass are worn on the suspension ribbon and service ribbon , indicating 10 , 20 , 30 , or 40 years of service respectively . If the medal is awarded in connection with a mobilization , it is accompanied by an " M " device . Subsequent mobilizations under an unrelated presidential call - up order result in a numeral device being worn to indicate the number of mobilizations . For service – the Hourglass device . In the Army Reserve and National Guard , a service member qualifies for the medal after completing a total of ten years service in the active reserve . This service may be cumulative , provided that the combined ten years of service was performed over a period of twelve consecutive years . Voluntary recalls to active duty are not counted within the ten years of service . In addition , unlike the Reserve Good Conduct Medal , a service member ’ s disciplinary history is not a factor when awarding the Armed Forces Reserve Medal . In the Naval Reserve , members of the Individual Ready Reserve are eligible for the medal after 10 years of service . Periods of service for the Armed Forces Reserve Medal are denoted through the use of the hourglass device . The length of the period for which the Armed Forces Reserve Medal is awarded is indicated using a bronze hourglass , silver hourglass , gold hourglass , or bronze and gold hourglasses together . The initial presentation of the Armed Forces Reserve Medal is authorized with the bronze hourglass device denoting ten years of reserve service . At twenty years of service , the hourglass is upgraded to silver and at thirty years the hourglass becomes gold . For those who complete forty years of reserve service , a gold and bronze hourglass device are worn simultaneously . This is the only case where hourglasses are worn together ; in all other cases the hourglass device is upgraded to the next higher award degree and is worn as a single device . Prior to Executive Order 13013 issued on August 6 , 1996 , a bronze hourglass device was presented only upon the second and subsequent awards of the Armed Forces Reserve Medal , as in a bronze hourglass for twenty years of service , two bronze hourglasses for thirty , and three bronze hourglasses for forty . Executive Order 13013 provided awarding a bronze hour glass after 10 years service , a silver hourglass after 20 years of service and a gold hourglass after 30 years of service . Personnel discharged or retired , prior to the change of the Hourglass Device award criteria , are not eligible for a correction of records or an upgrade of the Hourglass Device , as the Hourglass Device would have originally been presented under the original award specifications . For mobilization – the " M " device . The Armed Forces Reserve Medal is also awarded to any member of the Reserve or National Guard who is involuntarily mobilized for a contingency operation under Title 10 USC or Title 14 USC , or volunteers for federal active duty during any such mobilization . In such cases , the medal with an " M " device , or mobilization device , are both awarded together without regard to the period or length of service . The " M " device is a bronze " M " 1 / 4 inch in height . Subsequent mobilizations for a different executive order call - up authorize a numeral device ( " 2 " , " 3 " , etc . ) , sometimes called an award numeral , to be worn with the initial " M " device on the service ribbon and suspension ribbon of the medal . However , multiple deployments for different operations during a call - up for the same executive order only qualify for a single award of the " M " device . For example , if a soldier mobilized multiple times under , once for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and twice for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM , the soldier would still only be awarded one " M " device despite having been mobilized three times . If no " M " device is authorized , the appropriate hourglass shall be positioned in the center of the ribbon . If no hourglass is authorized , the " M " device shall be positioned in the center of the ribbon , followed by Arabic numerals indicating the number of times the device has been awarded ( e . g . , 2 to 99 — no number is worn for the first award ) . If both the hourglass and the " M " device are awarded , the hourglass ( es ) shall be positioned in first position on the ribbon ( at the wearer ' s right ) , the " M " device in middle position , and the number of times the " M " device has been awarded in the remaining position ( at the wearer ' s left ) .