Awards and decorations of the United States military
Awards and decorations of the United States military are military decorations which recognize a service member's service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces. Together with military badges, such awards are a means to outwardly display the highlights of a service member's career.
The first wide spread use of military awards was during the American Civil War, when the Armed Forces of the United States sought to recognize military accomplishment with personal awards and decorations bestowed upon service members. Prior to that, decorations, particularly for officers, were rare, frequently seen as the trappings of royalty and empire, and considered contrary to the republican spirit present among the Founding Fathers of the United States. [1].
The following is a listing of all active United States medals and ribbons, obsolete decorations, as well as foreign awards which are commonly bestowed to U.S. service members.
Medal of Honor
The original Medal of Honor was issued to members of the U.S. Army. In 1947, the U.S. Air Force began issuing its own version of the Medal of Honor. The U.S. Navy issues the Medal of Honor for members of the Navy and United States Marines. The only U.S. Coast Guard recipient of the award, Douglas Munro received the Navy Medal of Honor while attached to a Navy unit. Although a Coast Guard version of the Medal of Honor exists as a conjectural decoration, it has never been awarded or even designed.
The power to grant the Medal of Honor rests with the President upon approval from the Congress. The decoration is often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor because of this approval, but the official term for the award is simply the "Medal of Honor".
Department of Defense decorations
The following decorations are issued by the United States Department of Defense:
Federal military decorations
The following decorations are common to all branches of service and awarded by senior field commanders or other officials of competent authority.
Navy and Marine Corps decorations
The following decorations are issued by the United States Department of the Navy.
Army decorations
The following decorations are issued by the United States Department of the Army
Air Force decorations
The following decorations are issued by the United States Department of the Air Force:
Coast Guard decorations
The following decorations were previously issued under the authority of the United States Department of Transportation. As of 2003, the Department of Homeland Security has award authority of Coast Guard decorations.
Good Conduct and Reserve Medals
The following decorations are authorized for honorable and faithful service in the active duty military, reserve enlisted force, and military reserve as a whole.
Military Unit Awards
The following decorations are ribbon devices which are presented to a military member who is a member of a larger unit which is cited for a specific action.
Joint service
Army service
The U.S. Army mandates that all unit awards will be worn separate from individual awards on the opposite side of a military uniform. The Army is the only service to require this separation between unit and individual decorations. All Army unit awards are worn enclosed in a gold frame.
Navy and Marine Corps service
Air Force service
Coast Guard service
World War service medals
The following service medals were issued to military service members for participation in the First World War, Second World War, and the occupation duty that followed both conflicts.
Victory medals
Campaign medals
Occupation medals
Korean service medals
The following decorations are awarded for service during the Korean War and subsequent armistice.
Modern service medals
The following decorations are issued for participation in military activites from the Vietnam War to the present. Such service decorations can be found on the uniforms of active duty military personnel.
General service
Air Defense service
Sea service
Special service
Vietnam Service
Gulf War Service
Balkans peacekeeping service
War on Terrorism Service
Iraq War Service
Marksmanship medals
The Navy and Coast Guard are the only two services to issue medals for weapons marksmanship. Medals are issued for Expert qualification only.
Service ribbons
The following is a list of awards and decorations for which no medal is authorized. In such cases, a recepiant is awarded a Service Ribbon.
Army service
Navy and Marine Corps service
Coast Guard service
Air Force service
National Guard decorations
Awards and decorations of the National Guard are issued under the authority of State governments by the State Adjutant Generals. Such awards are considered military decorations, but only on a state level when a service member is performing duty through the United States National Guard.
In the modern age, the United States Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve permit National Guard members to retain and display National Guard decorations when activated to a regular status in the United States Armed Forces. Such National Guard decorations are also entered in permanent service records.
The United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard do not permit service members, who have formerly served in the National Guard, to display National Guard decorations on any uniform. This is since there is no National Guard equivalent for any of the sea services.
Obsolete military decorations
The following decorations have been officially removed from U.S. military award precedence charts and are listed as Obsolete Military Decorations in military award publications and instructions. Most of the following decorations indicate service in military operations prior to 1935.
General service
Army service
Navy and Marine Corps service
Coast Guard service
Unofficial military decorations
The following decorations were authorized under military regulations for wear on active uniforms, however did not appear on official precedence charts. Such awards were thus listed as unofficial and were usually bestowed for a one time action or authorized under the authority of a local commander.
General service
Army service
Navy and Marine Corps service
Coast Guard service
Special service
- Perry Polar Expeditionary Medal
- Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal (1930)
- Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal (1935)
Authorized civilian decorations
Certain civilian decorations are authorized for wear on United States military uniforms based on the prestige and criteria involved in their bestowal and the frequency of which they are awarded to both military and civilian personnel. Civilian decorations may be authorized for wear on a uniform of the U.S. armed forces upon application of the service department to which the military member belongs. With the exception of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is worn immediately following the Medal of Honor, such decorations are worn after all U.S. military awards and before any foreign decorations.
International military decorations
The following decorations are recognized as international awards authorized for wear on a U.S. military uniform.
Foreign military decorations
The following is a listing of foreign decorations which were bestowed upon U.S. service members for participation in foreign conflicts. This list is by no means comprehensive, but does indicate the most commonly bestowed foreign decorations to United States personnel.
First World War
France
Second World War
United Kingdom
Belgium
France
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Morocco
Philippines
Korean War
Vietnam War
- Vietnam Technical Service Medal (First Class)
- Vietnam Technical Service Medal (Second Class)
Gulf War
Prohibited decorations
The following awards and decorations are prohibited for wear on United States military uniforms:
- Unofficial Commemorative Medals not sponsored and approved by the Department of Defense
- Foreign military decorations which have not been authorized for United States military uniform display by the various service departments
- Medals and awards of United States military academies unless specifically serving as an Academy Cadet or Naval Midshipman
- Reserve Officer Training Corps awards unless specifically serving in a capacity as an ROTC Cadet or Naval ROTC Midshipman
- Civilian Cadet Corps awards, such as decorations bestowed by the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets.
- Pseudo-military awards such as decorations bestowed by the Sea Cadets and the Civil Air Patrol
- Police and Law Enforcement decorations
- Civilian government awards which have not been approved for display on military uniforms by the Department of Defense
- Private corporation and private sector awards which are not issued by a government or military source
- Eagle Scout of the Boy Scouts of America or the Gold Award of the Girl Scouts of America.
Award devices
The following devices are authorized for wear on United States military decorations to denote upgrades, combat distinction, or multiple bestowals of a given award