Army Service Ribbon - Definition

The Army Service Ribbon is a military decoration of the United States Army which was created in 1981. The Army Service Ribbon is awarded to any member of the U.S. Army (including Reserve and National Guard components) who complete "initial entry training."

Initial Entry Training is defined as any training or instruction course completed immediately upon entry into the United States Army. This would include basic training, Army ROTC and Officer Candidate School. For those service members who completed initial entry trianing prior to 1981, the Army Service Ribbon is retroactively awarded, provided the service member was still on active duty after 1981.

The Army Service Ribbon is presented as a one time award only and there are no devices authorized for additional awards of the decoration. The United States Air Force equivalent of the Army Service Ribbon is the Air Force Training Ribbon.

Due to the commoness of the Army Service Ribbon, new recruits sometimes refer to the decoration by a variety of venacular terms such as the "Heartbeat and Resperation Medal" or the "Army Hygine Ribbon".