It was awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty.

[1][3] The decoration could be awarded to officers of the South African Defence Force for outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty.

A Bar was instituted in 1993, to be awarded in recognition of further similar displays of outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty.

[3] The first recipient was Admiral Hugo Biermann SSA OBE GCIH, who received the decoration upon his retirement as Chief of the South African Defence Force in 1976.

[3][10] The reverse has the pre-1994 South African Coat of Arms in the centre, with the decoration number impressed above and the silver hallmark below.