Military awards and decorations of the US
The United States Armed Forces awards and decorations are primarily the medals, service ribbons, and specific badges which recognize military service and personal accomplishments while a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. Such awards are a means to outwardly display the highlights of a service member's career.
U.S. military awards currently issued to service members [edit]
Order of precedence [edit]
The precedence of particular awards will vary slightly among the different branches of service. All awards and decorations may be awarded to any service member unless otherwise designated by name or notation.[1]
| Ribbon/award name[2] | | Personal decorations | | Awarded for "Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty"  Medal of Honor | | Service cross medals - Awarded for "extraordinary heroism in combat"  Army Distinguished Service Cross  Navy Cross  Air Force Cross  Coast Guard Cross | | Distinguished service medals - Awarded for "exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility"  Defense Distinguished Service Medal  Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal  Army Distinguished Service Medal  Navy Distinguished Service Medal  Air Force Distinguished Service Medal  Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal | | Awarded for "gallantry in action"  Silver Star Medal | | Awarded for "superior or exceptionally meritorious service"  Defense Superior Service Medal  Legion of Merit | | Awarded for "heroism or extraordinary achievement in aerial flight"  Distinguished Flying Cross | | Medals for non-combat heroism  Soldier's Medal  Navy and Marine Corps Medal  Airman's Medal  Coast Guard Medal | | Awarded for heroism in combat zone or meritorious service in a war zone  Bronze Star Medal | | Awarded for wounds suffered in combat PH  Purple Heart | | Meritorious service and aviation medals  Defense Meritorious Service Medal  Meritorious Service Medal |  Air Medal |  Aerial Achievement Medal | | Commendation medals  Joint Service Commendation Medal  Army Commendation Medal  Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal  Air Force Commendation Medal  Coast Guard Commendation Medal | | Achievement medals  Joint Service Achievement Medal  Army Achievement Medal  Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal  Air Force Achievement Medal  Coast Guard Achievement Medal |  Commandant's Letter of Commendation | | Combat action awards  Navy Combat Action Ribbon  Air Force Combat Action Medal  Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon Also see: Army combat badges | | Unit awards | | Presidential Unit Citations  Army Presidential Unit Citation  Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation  Air Force Presidential Unit Citation  Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation |  Army Valorous Unit Award  Navy Unit Commendation  Air Force Gallant Unit Citation  Coast Guard Unit Commendation | | Meritorious Unit Commendations  Joint Meritorious Unit Award  Army Meritorious Unit Commendation  Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation  Air Force Meritorious Unit Award  Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation  Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation |  Army Superior Unit Award  Air Force Outstanding Unit Award  DHS Outstanding Unit Award | | Efficiency Awards  Navy "E" Ribbon  Air Force Organizational Excellence Award  Coast Guard "E" Ribbon | | Service awards |  Prisoner of War Medal | | Good conduct medals  Army Good Conduct Medal  Navy Good Conduct Medal  Air Force Good Conduct Medal  Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal  Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal |  Air Force Combat Readiness Medal |  Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon  Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year Ribbon |  Air Force Recognition Ribbon | | Reserve service medals  Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal  Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal  Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal  Coast Guard Reserve Good Conduct Medal  Armed Forces Reserve Medal | | Expeditionary medals  Navy Expeditionary Medal  Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal | | Continued on right column | | |
Note: ^ The precedence of the Purple Heart was immediately before the Good Conduct Medals until changed to its current precedence in 1985.
Military departments [edit]
- Inter-service
- Army
- Navy and Marine Corps
- Air Force and Space Force
- Coast Guard
To denote additional achievements or multiple awards of the same decoration, the United States military maintains a number of award devices which are pinned to service ribbons and medals.
Inactive and obsolete awards [edit]
U.S. military personnel having received these awards have participated within these areas of combat/conflict during the time these awards were given to U.S. service members. Such awards have since been discontinued or are no longer applicable in terms of receiving these commendations.
Discontinued or proposed [edit]
The following decorations were designed for issuance with an approved medal, but were either never officially approved for presentation or were discontinued before a first award could be made.
| Ribbon/award name | | Personal decorations |  Distinguished Warfare Medal | | Combat service decorations |  Combat Recognition Ribbon | | | Ribbon/award name | | General service award |  Cold War Victory Medal | |
Single service awards [edit]
Single service awards were official military decorations created as one time awards to recognize a single event. The first such single service award was issued during the Spanish–American War by the Revenue Cutter Service to honor the actions of the vessel USRC Hudson during the Battle of Cárdenas. The last single service award was issued in 1960 when Congress authorized the awarding of the Four Chaplains' Medal recognizing the Four Chaplains who died together during World War II.[6] There have been no single service awards issued since by the U.S. military, mainly due to the decline and complications of awarding commemorative service medals.
| Ribbon/award name | | Personal valor decorations |  Four Chaplains' Medal | | Personal commemorative decorations |  Cardenas Medal of Honor |  NC-4 Medal | | | Ribbon/award name | | Exploratory commemorative decorations |  Peary Polar Expedition Medal |  Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal |  Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal | |
Unofficial decorations [edit]
Unofficial decorations are those military awards created and issued by local commanders. In most cases, unofficial awards were designed to commemorate a specific battle or engagement of a commander's unit. The most well known unofficial awards were issued during the American Civil War.
| Ribbon/award name | | Civil War decorations |  | Kearny Cross | | Kearny Medal |  | Butler Medal | | | Gillmore Medal | | | Ribbon/award name | | Research decorations | | Walter Reed Medal | |
After the Civil War, stricter military regulations prohibited local commanders from issuing awards and the practice had fallen into disuse by the 20th century. Even so, the Department of Defense has stated that large numbers of unofficial medals were privately issued to members of the Armed Forces of the United States for many years after the Civil War, mostly to commemorate specific battles, events, or as private veteran memorabilia.[7] One of the more well known is the Walter Reed Medal (recognized today as a Congressional Gold Medal), awarded for exploratory scientific achievement in the field of malaria treatment. While presented as a gold medallion, members of the military were reported to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to denote the decoration.
Foreign and international awards [edit]
Foreign and international decorations are authorized for wear on United States military uniforms by the Department of Defense in accordance with established regulations for the receipt of such awards as outlined by the State Department. In the case of foreign decorations, the awards may be divided into senior service decorations (awarded only to high ranking U.S. officers), heroic decorations for valor, and foreign service decorations.
There are hundreds of foreign and international awards which have been approved for issuance to United States military personnel since World War I, the following being among the more common.
| Ribbon/award name | | World War I |  French Legion of Honor |  British Order of the Bath |  French Military Medal |  French Croix de guerre |  Belgian Croix de guerre |  Czechoslovak War Cross (1918) | | Caribbean & Central America (1920s & 1930s) |  Order of Abdon Calderón (Ecuador) |  Military Merit Medal (Haiti) |  Medal of Merit (Nicaragua) | | World War II (Europe) |  French Croix de guerre |  Belgian Croix de guerre |  Luxembourg War Cross |  Czechoslovak War Cross (1945) |  Luxembourg War Cross (Unit Citation) | | World War II (Pacific) |  Philippine Defense Medal |  Philippine Liberation Medal |  Philippine Independence Medal |  Philippine Presidential Unit Citation | | World War II (Senior Orders) |  Order of Adolphe of Nassau (Luxembourg) |  Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico) |  Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom) |  Order of the Crown (Belgium) |  Order of Leopold (Belgium) |  Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) |  Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco) |  Order of Pao Ting (China) |  Order of Virtuti Militari (Poland) |  Order of the White Eagle (Poland) |  Order of the White Eagle (Yugoslavia) |  Order of William (Netherlands) | | Korean War - South Korea and the United Nations |  United Nations Service Medal |  Republic of Korea War Service Medal |  Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation | | | Ribbon/award name | | Vietnam War - Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) |  RVN Army Distinguished Service Order |  RVN Navy Distinguished Service Order |  RVN Air Force Distinguished Service Order |  RVN Military Merit Medal |  RVN Gallantry Cross (with Palm) |  RVN Air Gallantry Cross |  RVN Navy Gallantry Cross |  RVN Armed Forces Honor Medal |  RVN Civil Actions Medal (1st class) |  RVN Staff Service Medal |  RVN Special Service Medal |  RVN Training Service Medal |  RVN Presidential Unit Citation |  RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with palm and frame |  RVN Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation with palm and frame (1st class) |  RVN Campaign Medal with 1960- device | | Persian Gulf War |  Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |  Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) | | International Awards (20th Century) |  United Nations Medal |  Multinational Force and Observers Medal |  Inter-American Defense Board Medal |  NATO Medal (Yugoslavia) |  NATO Medal (Kosovo) |  NATO Medal (Non-Article 5) | | Senior Military Awards (21st Century) |  Aeronautical Merit Cross (Peru) |  Cross of Honor (Germany) |  Khalifiyyeh Order of Bahrain |  Military Merit Order (United Arab Emirates) |  Order of the Crown of Thailand |  Order of the Date Palm (Iraq) |  Order of May (Argentina) |  Order of Merit (Germany) |  Order of Merit of the Italian Republic |  Order of National Security Merit (Korea) |  Order of the Rising Sun (Japan) |  Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil) | |
During the First and Second World Wars, the Croix de Guerre medals of France and Belgium, as well as the French Military Medal and Luxembourg War Cross, were further issued as unit citation cords, known as Fourragère. Service members could receive both the individual award and the unit cord; in the case of the later, the unit citation could either be worn temporarily while a member of the unit or permanently if the service member was present during the actual battle which warranted the unit citation. A further unit citation cord of the Order of William of the Netherlands was also issued during World War II, and was far more commonly known as the "Orange Lanyard".
As of 2002, South Korea has again issued the Korean Presidential Unit Citation to certain units of the United States Marine Corps, thus placing this previously obsolete foreign award back on the active order of precedence for U.S. decorations. Apart from this one decoration, most 21st century foreign military awards are reserved for only the most senior flag and general officers and then only presented as "end of tour" decorations upon transfer from a major command.
See also [edit]
- To display devices on Wikipedia pages, use Template:Ribbon devices.
- Awards and decorations of the United States government
- Merchant Marine
- Awards and decorations of the Public Health Service
- Awards and decorations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Civilian decorations of the United States
- Awards and decorations of the National Guard
- Awards and decorations of the State Defense Forces
- Military decorations of the Cold War
- Awards and decorations of the Vietnam War
- United States military award devices
- Military badges of the United States
- Badges of the United States Air Force
- Badges of the United States Army
- Badges of the United States Coast Guard
- Badges of the United States Marine Corps
- Badges of the United States Navy
- Badges of the United States Space Force
- Obsolete badges of the United States military
- Identification badges of the United States military
- Unofficial combat badges of the United States Army
- List of military decorations
- State decoration
- Army-Navy "E" Award
- Medal inflation
References [edit]
- ^ "NUMBER 1348.33, Volume 3" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. United States Department of Defense. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ^ a b http://www.homeofheroes.com/medals/1_precedence.html Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ OPNAVINST 3591.1F, SMALL ARMS TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION Archived 22 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Chief of Naval Operations, dated 12 August 2009, last accessed 5 May 2013
- ^ "COMDTINST M1650.25D, Medals and Awards Manual, U.S. Coast Guard, dated May 2008, last accessed 5 May 2013" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ U.S. Coast Guard Uniform Regulations, dated March 2012, last accessed 5 May 2013
- ^ "The Institute of Heraldry – Army Chaplain Medal of Valor". Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ Price, James S. (2011). The Battle of New Market Heights: freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 87. ISBN978-1-60949-038-6.
Further reading [edit]
- Foster, Frank C. (2002). A complete guide to all United States military medals, 1939 to present. Fountain Inn, S.C.: MOA Press. ISBN1-884-45218-3. OCLC 54755134.
- Kerrigan, Evans E. (1971). American war medals and decorations . New York: Viking Press. ISBN0-670-12101-0. OCLC 128058.
- Kerrigan, Evans E. (1990). American medals and decorations . Noroton Heights, CT: Medallic. ISBN0-792-45082-5. OCLC 21467942.
- Robles, Philip K. (1971). United States military medals and ribbons . Rutland, VT: C. E. Tuttle. ISBN0-804-80048-0. OCLC 199721.
External links [edit]
- Decorations and Medals - Ribbons - Order of Precedence at the Institute of Heraldry website
- U.S. Army Symbols and Insignia
- The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army
- U.S. Navy Service and Campaign Medals
- Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia (in PDF format)
- Military Awards (U.S. Army) (in PDF format) [ dead link ]
- SGM (USA, Ret.) Gregory A. Noller (1995). "ADVA Army Awards". Americal Division Veterans Association. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012.
National Defense Service Medal 
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal 
Korea Defense Service Medal 
Armed Forces Service Medal 
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Antarctica Service Medal 
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Coast Guard Distinguished Marksman Award 
Coast Guard Silver Rifle Excellence-in-Competition Award 
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Navy Expert Rifleman Medal 
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Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon with Sharpshooter Device 
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Coast Guard Distinguished Pistol Shot Award 
Coast Guard Silver Pistol Excellence-in-Competition Award 
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Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon with Sharpshooter Device 
Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon with Sharpshooter Device 
Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon 
Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon 
Certificate of Merit Medal 
Marine Corps Brevet Medal 
Reserve Special Commendation Ribbon 
Army Wound Ribbon 
Transportation Distinguished Service Medal 
Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award 
Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation 
West Indies Naval Campaign Medal (Sampson Medal) 
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United States Antarctic Expedition Medal 
Civil War Campaign Medal 
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China Campaign Medal (Army) 
Spanish Campaign Medal 
West Indies Campaign Medal 
Spanish War Service Medal 
Army of Cuban Occupation Medal 
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Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal 
Philippine Campaign Medal 
Philippine Congressional Medal 
Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912) 
Haitian Campaign Medal (1915 & 1920–1921) 
Dominican Campaign Medal (1916) 
Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1926-1930) 
Yangtze Service Medal 
Mexican Service Medal (1911-1917) 
Mexican Border Service Medal 
World War I Victory Medal 
Army of Occupation of Germany Medal 
China Service Medal 
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Women's Army Corps Service Medal 
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World War II Victory Medal 
Medal for Humane Action 
Army of Occupation Medal 
Korean Service Medal 
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Naval Reserve Medal 
Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon 
Fleet Marine Force Ribbon 
Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal 
Air Force Military Training Instructor Ribbon 
Air Force Recruiter Ribbon 
Navy Distinguished Marksman and Pistol Shot Ribbon 
Navy Distinguished Marksman Ribbon 
Navy Distinguished Pistol Shot Ribbon