Capt Bencze receives the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) from the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David L. Cohen, during the 03 June 2022 U.S. Embassy Military Awards Ceremony in Ottawa.

Captain Christopher G. Bencze, Canadian Army, distinguished himself by outstanding meritorious service as Cyber Domain Chief and Deputy Chief, Cheyenne Mountain Operations Branch, North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado from July 2018 to June 2021.

During this period, Captain Bencze demonstrated outstanding proficiency and steadfast devotion to duty through his accomplishments on the command center watch floor, and by management of the Continuity of Operations spaces within Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station. Furthermore, he rewrote all 600 series checklists, restructured the Cyber syllabus, and performed multiple crew evaluations. Finally, as the Deputy Chief of the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Branch, Captain Bencze was the driving force behind the reorganization of the Continuity of Operations spaces and the completion of a $1.3 million project to create a tertiary command center that enabled the continuation of the defense of North America during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic.

This distinctive accomplishments of Captain Bencze reflect great credit upon himself the Canadian Army, and the United States Department of Defense