Order of the Osprey

Confirmed by National Assembly

The **Order of the Osprey** (French: *Ordre du Balbuzard*) is the highest national honor of Valoria. It is conferred for both military and civilian gallantry.

The order was founded in 1762 by Prime Minister John Cooper. It may only be awarded twice in a calendar year, although most years have no inductees. On paper, anybody is eligible to receive the award, however in practice, certain groups are excluded. The award is rarely bestowed upon non-Valorians, and it is frowned upon to induct Valorian public servants.

Because of the lengthy process required for induction, the history and esteem surrounding the order, and the general disinclination towards inducting new members, the order is considered one of the most prestigious in the world. Since its founding, there have only been 39 inductees. The most recent inductee is soccer player Ashley Moriarty, inducted in December 2023.

## History

The idea of the order was first suggested by Prime Minister John Cooper, specifically for Anthony Vanwall and Christian Barton, in recognition of their roles in founding Valoria. On December 25th, Cooper formally inducted Vanwall as the first member, and Barton as the second. Cooper did not nominate any other members during the rest of his tenure.

## Induction Process

The induction process begins with a nomination from the prime minister, who holds the sole ability to nominate new inductees.

Since 2018, the induction process requires affirmation by the president to continue.

Following affirmation by the president, the National Assembly must confirm the nominee with 80 votes.

Once confirmed through the Assembly's vote, the prime minister is empowered to proclaim the nominee an official member.

There is no time limit to how long any of these steps may take. As a result, the induction process often takes several months, or, exceptionally, multiple years. Generally, however, formal inductions are made on the anniversaries of events or actions where inductees earned membership. Because the induction process can take unpredictable amounts of time, prime ministers will sometimes nominate prospective inductees well before their planned induction date, allowing the other bodies ample time to complete their confirmations, and only officially inducting them on the planned date.

Although not an official part of the process, living inductees have typically been consulted on induction of new members. It is often said that all living inductees must approve of a prospective member before the prime minister formally nominates them.

There is no expulsion process from the order; once inducted, the award cannot be forfeited.

A prospective inductee may refuse to accept induction. This occurred multiple times during Valoria's period of absolute monarchy, where honorees refused to accept the award as protest against the government.

## Privileges and Precedence

Inductees are entitled to use the post-nominal letters *OO*. All living members of the Order are automatically invited to official government dinners and ceremonies. Members of the Order and their families/associates are also typically treated with preference in many regards by the government, although this is an informal privilege and the Valorian government denies granting such preference to inductees.

The Order of the Osprey is the highest honor in the Valorian honors system. Due to the rarity of induction and prestige of the award, a lavish ceremony is held on the day the award is formally bestowed. The awarding ceremony is held in sole honor of the recipient—no other awards or honors may be presented during the same month as an Order of the Osprey induction (although a special exception was made for Anthony Vanwall and Christian Barton, the first two inductees into the order).