 The nomination had to be forwarded in writing by a courier up the official command chain.Every intermittent administrative office or commander between the nominating unit and the commander-in-chief of the respective Wehrmacht branch (commander-in-chief of the "Heer", commander-in-chief of the "Luftwaffe" and commander-in-chief of the "Kriegsmarine" with their respective staff offices) had to give their approval along with a short comment.In exceptional cases, such as the nominated individual had sustained severe injuries or that the command chain had been interrupted, a nomination could be submitted via teleprinter communication.