Awarded to members of the Spanish Naval Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians.The upper arm is surmounted by a Spanish royal crown and has a tablet to engrave the date of bestowal.The round central shield of the obverse bears the coat of arms of Castile, León, Aragon, Navarre and Granada (until 2003 only alternate coats of arms of Castile and León); in the middle there is a blue oval shield (escutcheon) of the House of Bourbon-Anjou.On the reverse there are letters "MM" (Mérito Militar) on red background.Each subsequent award is denoted by a bar with the date of bestowal on the ribbon.
Distintivo rojo,
here shown in the type 1922, was the highest class.