Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces

Awards and decorations of the United States military are military decorations which recognize 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.

Order of precedence

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. (ret.) Peter Pace wearing decorations.

While each service has its own order of precedence, the following general rules apply to all services:

1. U.S. military personal decorations
2. U.S. military unit awards
3. U.S. non-military personal decorations (After unit awards in order of receipt; if from the same agency, the applicable agency precedence listing should be consulted)
4. U.S. non-military unit awards
5. U.S. military campaign awards
6. U.S. military service and training awards
7. U.S. Merchant Marine awards and non-military service awards
8. Foreign military personal decorations
9. Foreign military unit awards
10. Non-U.S. service awards (e.g., United Nations, NATO)
11. Foreign military service awards
12. Marksmanship awards (Navy and Coast Guard)
13. State awards of the National Guard (Army)

• Unit awards are worn on the right side in the U.S. Army.

Active United States medals and ribbons

By order of precedence

Ribbon/Award Name Personal decorations   Medal of Honor Awarded for "Gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty". Service Cross medals. Awarded for "Extraordinary heroism"   Navy Cross   Army Distinguished Service Cross   Air Force Cross Distinguished Service medals   Defense Distinguished Service Medal   Navy Distinguished Service Medal   Army Distinguished Service Medal   Air Force Distinguished Service Medal   Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal   Silver Star Awarded for "Gallantry in action"   Defense Superior Service Medal   Legion of Merit   Distinguished Flying Cross Medals for heroism   Navy and Marine Corps Medal   Soldier's Medal   Airman's Medal   Coast Guard Medal   Gold Lifesaving Medal   Bronze Star   Purple Heart   Defense Meritorious Service Medal   Meritorious Service Medal   Air Medal   Silver Lifesaving Medal   Aerial Achievement Medal Commendation medals   Joint Service Commendation Medal   Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal   Army Commendation Medal   Air Force Commendation Medal   Coast Guard Commendation Medal Achievement medals   Joint Service Achievement Medal   Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal   Army Achievement Medal   Air Force Achievement Medal   Coast Guard Achievement Medal   Commandant's Letter of Commendation   Combat Action Ribbon   Air Force Combat Action Medal Unit Awards Presidential Unit Citation File:NavyPres.gif  Navy & Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation   Army & Air Force Presidential Unit Citation   Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation   Joint Meritorious Unit Award   Navy Unit Commendation   Valorous Unit Award (Army)   Gallant Unit Citation (Air Force)   Coast Guard Unit Commendation Meritorious Unit Commendation   Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation   Army Meritorious Unit Commendation   Air Force Meritorious Unit Award   Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation   Army Superior Unit Award   Air Force Outstanding Unit Award   Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation Efficiency Award   Navy "E" Ribbon   Organizational Excellence Award (Air Force)   Coast Guard "E" Ribbon   Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation Service awards   Prisoner of War Medal   Combat Readiness Medal Good Conduct medals   Navy Good Conduct Medal   Army Good Conduct Medal   Air Force Good Conduct Medal (Still authorized for wear)   Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal   Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal

Ribbon/Award name Service awards (cont.) Reserve good conduct medals   Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal   Army Reserve Achievement Medal   Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal   Coast Guard Reserve Good Conduct Medal Expeditionary medals   Navy Expeditionary Medal   Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal   Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon   Air Force Recognition Ribbon Campaign medals   National Defense Service Medal   Korean Service Medal   Antarctica Service Medal   Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal   Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal   Vietnam Service Medal   Southwest Asia Service Medal   Kosovo Campaign Medal   Afghanistan Campaign Medal   Iraq Campaign Medal   Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal   Global War on Terrorism Service Medal   Korea Defense Service Medal   Armed Forces Service Medal   Humanitarian Service Medal   Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal   Air and Space Campaign Medal Service and training awards   Army Sea Duty Ribbon   Sea Service Deployment Ribbon   Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon (Air Force)   Special Operations Service Ribbon (Coast Guard)   Arctic Service Ribbon (Navy)   Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon   Naval Reserve Sea Service Ribbon   Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon (Air Force)   Restricted Duty Ribbon (Coast Guard)   Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon   Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon   Coast Guard Honor Graduate Ribbon   Air Force Longevity Service Award Recruiting service ribbon   Navy Recruiting Service Ribbon   Air Force Recruiter Ribbon   Marine Corps Recruiting Ribbon   Coast Guard Recruiting Service Ribbon Training service ribbon   Military Training Instructor Ribbon (Air Force)   Navy Recruit Training Service Ribbon   Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon Guard ribbon   Navy Ceremonial Guard Ribbon   Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon   Armed Forces Reserve Medal Professional Development Ribbon   NCO Professional Development Ribbon   NCO PME Graduate Ribbon (Air Force)   Army Service Ribbon   Honor Graduate Ribbon (Air Force)   Army Overseas Service Ribbon   Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon   Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon   Air Force Training Ribbon Marksmanship awards Rifle File:NavRifleEx.jpg  Navy Expert Rifleman Medal   Coast Guard Expert Rifle Medal   Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon   Coast Guard Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon Pistol File:NavPisRibEx.jpg  Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal   Coast Guard Expert Pistol Medal   Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon   Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon

By military department

• Inter-service
• Air Force
• Army
• Coast Guard
• Navy and Marine Corps
• Merchant Marine

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.

National Guard and State Defense Forces decorations

• Awards and decorations of the National Guard
• Awards and decorations of the State Defense Forces

Unofficial and obsolete decorations

Obsolete decorations

Main articles: Obsolete military awards of the United States and United States service medals of the World Wars

Ribbon/Award Name Personal decorations   Certificate of Merit Medal   Marine Corps Brevet Medal   Specially Meritorious Service Medal Unit awards   Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award File:Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation.svg  Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation Good Conduct Awards   Air Force Good Conduct Medal 19th and early 20th century campaign medals   Civil War Campaign Medal   Indian Campaign Medal   China Campaign Medal (Army)   China Relief Expedition Medal (Navy) Spanish-American War campaign and occupation medals   Spanish Campaign Medal   West Indies Campaign Medal   West Indies Naval Campaign Medal (Sampson Medal)   Battle of Manila Bay Medal (Dewey Medal)   Spanish War Service Medal   Army of Cuban Occupation Medal   Army of Cuban Pacification Medal   Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal Philippine-American War campaign medals   Philippine Campaign Medal   Philippine Congressional Medal Navy & Marine Corps expedition medals (1920s and 1930s)   Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912)   Dominican Campaign Medal   Haitian Campaign Medal (1917)   Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1933)   Haitian Campaign Medal (1921)   Yangtze Service Medal

Distinguished Marksman and Pistol Shot Ribbon  Distinguished Marksman Ribbon  Distinguished Pistol Shot Ribbon Ribbon/Award Name World War I and Pre-WWI service medals   Mexican Service Medal   Mexican Border Service Medal   World War I Victory Medal   Army of Occupation of Germany Medal World War II and Pre-WWII service medals   China Service Medal   American Defense Service Medal   Women's Army Corps Service Medal   American Campaign Medal   European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal   Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal   World War II Victory Medal Post World War II occupation and service medals   Army of Occupation Medal   Navy Occupation Service Medal   Medal for Humane Action Service and training awards   Army Wound Ribbon   Naval Reserve Medal   Fleet Marine Force Ribbon   Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon   Reserve Special Commendation Ribbon Marksmanship

Unofficial decorations

• Unofficial decorations of the United States military

Foreign and international decorations

• Authorized foreign decorations of the United States military
• International military decorations

See also

• Civilian decorations of the United States
• Military decorations of the Cold War
• Awards and decorations of the Vietnam War
• Unofficial combat badges of the United States Army
• Awards and decorations of the Soviet Union
• Awards and decorations of the Russian Federation
• List of military decorations
• State decoration
• List of prizes, medals, and awards

External links

• Military Medals and Awards
• Ribbon Rack Builder
• Army Medals and Ribbons
• 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)
• DoD 1348.33-M, "Manual of Military Decorations and Awards," 09/1996
• U.S. Navy order of precedence
• American Legion
• Order of Precedence Engine for Ribbons & Devices of the U.S. Armed Services