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 Awards and decorations of the United States military - Definition 

Since the American Civil War, the Armed Forces of the United States has 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] (http://www.history.navy.mil/medals/).

The following is a list of the Awards and decorations of the United States military. Together with military badges, such decorations recognize a service member's service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States military.

Contents

Medal of Honor

The highest award of the U.S. military is the Medal of Honor. Although a single award, each branch of service issues a version of the decoration with slight variations in design.

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 Medal of Honor, Douglas Munro, received the Navy Medal of Honor, although a Coast Guard version of the Medal of Honor exists as a conjectural decoration.

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

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Iraq War Service

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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

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Navy and Marine Corps service

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Coast Guard service

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Air Force service

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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

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Army service

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Navy and Marine Corps service

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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

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Army service

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Navy and Marine Corps service

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Coast Guard service

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Special service

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Authorized civilian decorations

The following civilian decorations are authorized for wear on United States military uniforms due to the prestige and criteria involved in their bestowal. 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 foreign decorations.

Executive Branch

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NASA

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National Intelligence Agency

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Department of Transportation

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Department of Health and Human Services

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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 foriegn decorations to United States personnel.

First World War

France

Second World War

United Kingdom


Belgium


France


Netherlands


Luxembourg

Poland

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Czechoslovakia

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Morocco

Philippines


Korean War


Vietnam War


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 Cadet Corps of Texas A&M.
  • 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

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


See also

Official links


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