still be awarded the latter decoration for long meritorious service when he's eligible). Persons who are the subject of criminal proceedings will usually not be awarded a national order until they are declared not guilty. Award of the Order of Leopold in the Military Division The Order of Leopold in the Military Division (with crossed swords under the crown) is mostly awarded to military personnel on the basis of their length of service, although exceptions to that rule exist where the order is presented to military personnel for exceptional or meritorious service. (e.g. awards to officers or non-commissioned officers for devoted service to His Majesy the King). Grand Officer: Awarded to a Lieutenant-General after holding that rank for about 2 years, for exceptional services to the Armed Forces; Commander: Awarded after 35 years of meritorious service to a general officer; Officer: Awarded after 28 years of meritorious service to a field officer; Knight: Awarded after 20 years of meritorious service to a commissioned officer with minimum rank of Captain, and after 40 years of meritorious service for a non-commissioned officer. The years of service that are counted to calculate the eligibility of the award are not necessarily equal to the (calendar) years of duty. Additional bonuses can be earned for service in the air (a heritage coming from King Albert who want to bestow extra credit upon the pilots in the first World War, who often faced great danger in a new and experimental military branch) or on the battlefield (during wartime) and years of service as a non-commissioned officer or as enlisted personnel count as half for the awards made to officers. For awards to military personnel, there is no minimum age requirement. Award of the Order of Leopold in the Maritime Division The order in the Maritime Division (with crossed anchors under the crown) is only awarded to members of the merchant navy, as members of the Belgian Navy are awarded the order in the Military Division. The Order of Leopold is currently almost never awarded in the Maritime Division. Award conditions for long civilian service The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold may be awarded to workers in the private sector or contractual employees of the public sector after fifty-five years of professional activity. The Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold is also awarded to the members of the national and provincial committees for the