Southern Cross Decoration

• Name — Southern Cross Decoration • Presenter — the State President and, from 1994, the President • Country — South Africa South Africa • Type — Military decoration for merit • Eligibility — Officers • Awarded For — Outstanding service of the highest order and utmost devotion to duty • Status — Discontinued in 2003 • Post Nominals — SD • Established — 1975 • Firstawarded — 1976 • Precedence Label — SADF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear • Higher — * SADF precedence: • Pro Virtute Decoration • SANDF precedence: • Pro Virtute Decoration • Lower — * SADF succession: • Pro Merito Decoration • SANDF succession: • Pro Merito Decoration • Image2 — * Illustration — x29px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar

The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The Southern Cross Decoration, post-nominal letters SD, was instituted by the State President on 1 July 1975.

The position of the Southern Cross Decoration in the official order of precedence was revised three times, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994, again when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and again upon the institution of a new set of awards in 2003, but it remained unchanged on all three occasions. • Illustration — Pro Virtute Decoration (PVD) • Illustration — Southern Cross Decoration (SD) • Illustration — Pro Merito Decoration (PMD) • Official SANDF order of precedence: • Preceded by the Pro Virtute Decoration (PVD). • Succeeded by the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD). • Official national order of precedence: • Preceded by the Pro Virtute Decoration (PVD). • Succeeded by the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD).

Conferment of the decoration was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003, when the Southern Cross Decoration and the Pro Merito Decoration (PMD) were both replaced by the new iPhrothiya yeGolide (PG).