Military Order of General Rafael Urdaneta

Venezuela established this military decoration in 1946 to recognise loyal career officers and troops who gave years of faithful duty. The award was named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a famous hero of the South American independence wars. It created a standard way to celebrate service milestones rather than relying only on battlefield honors.

Over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the order became the primary long-service award across all branches of the armed forces. It is awarded in three classes based on whether a service member completed ten, twenty, or thirty years of honorable active service. It remains one of the most respected military awards worn by career personnel.