thumb|250px|right|[[Service ribbons, ribbon devices, and badge awards displayed on a Command Master Chief Petty Officer's service uniform]]

Various medals, service ribbons, ribbon devices, and specific badges recognize military service and personal accomplishments of members 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

General order of precedence

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.

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! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Personal decorations

|-

|

border|124px  Medal of Honor

|-

|

border|124px  Distinguished Service Cross (Army)

border|124px  Navy Cross

border|124px  Air Force Cross

border|124px  Coast Guard Cross

|-

|

border|124px  Defense Distinguished Service Medal

border|124px  Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Distinguished Service Medal (Army)

border|124px  Navy Distinguished Service Medal

border|124px  Distinguished Service Medal (Air and Space Forces)

border|124px  Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Silver Star Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Defense Superior Service Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Legion of Merit

|-

|

border|124px  Distinguished Flying Cross

|-

|

border|124px  Soldier's Medal

border|124px  Navy and Marine Corps Medal

border|124px  Airman's Medal

border|124px  Coast Guard Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Bronze Star Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Purple Heart

|-

|

border|124px  Defense Meritorious Service Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Meritorious Service Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Air Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Aerial Achievement Medal (Air and Space Forces)

|-

|

border|124px  Joint Service Commendation Medal

border|124px  Army Commendation Medal

border|124px  Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal

border|124px  Air and Space Commendation Medal

border|124px  Coast Guard Commendation Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Joint Service Achievement Medal

border|124px  Army Achievement Medal

border|124px  Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

border|124px  Air and Space Achievement Medal

border|124px  Coast Guard Achievement Medal

|-

|

border|124px  Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon (Coast Guard)

|-

|

border|124px  Navy Combat Action Ribbon

border|124px  Combat Action Medal (Air and Space Forces)

border|124px  Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon

Also see: Army combat badges

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| Unit awards

|-

|

border|124px  Presidential Unit Citation (Army)

border|124px  Presidential Unit Citation (Navy and Marine Corps)

border|124px  Presidential Unit Citation (Air and Space Forces)

border|124px  Presidential Unit Citation (Coast Guard)

|-

|

border|124px  Joint Meritorious Unit Award

border|124x124px  DHS Outstanding Unit Award

border|124px  Valorous Unit Award (Army)

border|124px  Navy Unit Commendation

border|124px  Gallant Unit Citation (Air and Space Forces)

border|124px  Coast Guard Unit Commendation

|-

|

border|124px  Army Meritorious Unit Commendation

border|124px  Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation

border|124px  Meritorious Unit Award (Air and Space Forces)

border|124px  Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation

border|124px  Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation

|-

|

border|124px  Army Superior Unit Award

border|124px  Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award

|-

|

border|124px  Navy "E" Ribbon

border|124px  Air and Space Organizational Excellence Award

border|124px  Coast Guard "E" Ribbon

|-

|

|}

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{| class="wikitable sortable" width="100%"

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! Ribbon/award name

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border|124px  Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Air and Space Forces)

border|124px  Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon

border|124px  Coast Guard Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon

border|124px  Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon

border|124px  Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon

|}

|}

Note: The precedence of the Purple Heart was immediately before the Good Conduct Medals until changed to its current precedence in 1985.

Military departments

  • 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

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. Certain decorations remain inactive at this time (e.g. National Defense Service Medal) but may be reactivated at a later date in the future.

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! Ribbon/award name

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!Personal decorations

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|border|124px  Certificate of Merit Medal

border|124px  Marine Corps Brevet Medal

|-

|border|124px  Specially Meritorious Service Medal

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|border|124px  Reserve Special Commendation Ribbon

|-

||border|124px  Army Wound Ribbon

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

!Department of Transportation military awards

|-

|border|124px  Transportation Distinguished Service Medal

|-

|border|124px  Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award

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|border|124px  Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

!19th and early 20th century Commemorative Medals

|-

|border|124px  West Indies Naval Campaign Medal (Sampson Medal)

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|border|124px  Battle of Manila Bay Medal (Dewey Medal)

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|border|124px  United States Antarctic Expedition Medal

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!19th and early 20th century Campaign Medals

|-

|border|124px  Civil War Campaign Medal

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|border|124px  Indian Campaign Medal

|-

|border|124px  China Campaign Medal (Army)

border|124px  China Relief Expedition Medal (Navy)

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

!Spanish–American War campaign and occupation medals

|-

|border|124px  Spanish Campaign Medal

|-

|border|124px  West Indies Campaign Medal

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|border|124px  Spanish War Service Medal

|-

|border|124px  Army of Cuban Occupation Medal

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|border|124px  Cuban Pacification Medal (Army)

border|124px  Cuban Pacification Medal (Navy)

|-

|border|124px  Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal

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|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

!Philippine–American War campaign medals

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|border|124px  Philippine Campaign Medal

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|border|124px  Philippine Congressional Medal

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!Navy & Marine Corps expedition medals

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|

border|124px  Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912)

|-

|

border|124px  Haitian Campaign Medal (1915 & 1920–1921)

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|border|124px  Dominican Campaign Medal (1916)

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|

border|124px  Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1926–1930)

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|border|124px  Yangtze Service Medal

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{| class="wikitable"

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! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

!World War I and Pre-World War I service medals

|-

|border|124px  Mexican Service Medal

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|border|124px  Mexican Border Service Medal

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|border|124px  World War I Victory Medal

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|border|124px  Army of Occupation of Germany Medal

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

!World War II and Pre-World War II service medals

|-

|border|124px  China Service Medal

|-

|border|124px  American Defense Service Medal

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|border|124px  Women's Army Corps Service Medal

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|border|124px  American Campaign Medal

border|124px  Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

border|124px  European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal

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|border|124px  World War II Victory Medal

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!Post World War II, Cold War Service, Occupation Medals

|-

|border|124px  Army of Occupation Medal

border|124px  Navy Occupation Service Medal

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|border|124px  Medal for Humane Action

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|border|124px  National Defense Service Medal

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|border|124px  Korean Service Medal

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|border|124px  Vietnam Service Medal

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!Post Cold War Campaign Medals

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|border|124px  Southwest Asia Service Medal

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|border|124px  Kosovo Campaign Medal

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|border|124px  Afghanistan Campaign Medal

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|border|124px  Iraq Campaign Medal

|- bgcolor="#ccccff" align="center"

!Service and training decorations

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|border|124px  Naval Reserve Medal

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|border|124px  Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon

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|border|124px  Fleet Marine Force Ribbon

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|border|124px  Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal

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|border|124px  Air Force Military Training Instructor Ribbon

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|border|124px  Air Force Recruiter Ribbon

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!Marksmanship

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|border|124px  Navy Distinguished Marksman and Pistol Shot Ribbon

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|border|124px  Navy Distinguished Marksman Ribbon

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|border|124px  Navy Distinguished Pistol Shot Ribbon

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Discontinued or proposed

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.

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! Ribbon/award name

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|Personal decorations

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|border|124px  Distinguished Warfare Medal

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|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Combat service decorations

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|124px  Combat Recognition Ribbon

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{| class="wikitable"

! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|General service award

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|border|124px  Cold War Victory Medal

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|border|124px  Iraq Commitment Medal

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Single service awards

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. 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.

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{| class="wikitable"

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! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Personal valor decorations

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|124px  Four Chaplains' Medal

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|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Personal commemorative decorations

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|124px  Cardenas Medal of Honor

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|124px  NC-4 Medal

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{| class="wikitable"

! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Exploratory commemorative decorations

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|124px  Peary Polar Expedition Medal

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|124px  Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal

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|124px  Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal

|}

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Unofficial decorations

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.

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{| class="wikitable"

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! align="center" colspan="2"|Ribbon/award name

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|align="center" colspan="2"|Civil War decorations

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|align="left" rowspan="2"|border|124px

|Kearny Cross

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|Kearny Medal

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|124px

|Butler Medal

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|No ribbon

|Gillmore Medal

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{| class="wikitable"

! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Research decorations

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|124px  Walter Reed Medal

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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. 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

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.

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{| class="wikitable"

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! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|World War I

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|border|124px  French Legion of Honor

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|border|124px  British Order of the Bath

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|border|124px  French Military Medal

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|border|124px  French Croix de guerre

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|border|124px  Belgian Croix de guerre

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|border|124px  Czechoslovak War Cross (1918)

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Caribbean & Central America (1920s & 1930s)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Abdon Calderón (Ecuador)

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|border|124px  Military Merit Medal (Haiti)

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|border|124px  Medal of Merit (Nicaragua)

|-

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|World War II (Europe)

|-

|border|124px  French Croix de guerre

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|border|124px  Belgian Croix de guerre

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|border|124px  Luxembourg War Cross

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|border|124px  Czechoslovak War Cross (1945)

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|border|124px  Luxembourg War Cross (Unit Citation)

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|World War II (Pacific)

|-

|border|124px  Philippine Defense Medal

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|border|124px  Philippine Liberation Medal

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|border|124px  Philippine Independence Medal

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|border|124px  Philippine Presidential Unit Citation

|-

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|World War II (Senior Orders)

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|border|124px  Order of Adolphe of Nassau (Luxembourg)

|-

|border|124px  Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico)

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|border|124px  Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)

|-

|border|124px  Order of the Crown (Belgium)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Leopold (Belgium)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)

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|border|124px  Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Pao Ting (China)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Virtuti Militari (Poland)

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|border|124px  Order of the White Eagle (Poland)

|-

|border|124px  Order of the White Eagle (Yugoslavia)

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|border|124px  Order of William (Netherlands)

|-

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Korean War - South Korea and the United Nations

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|border|124px  United Nations Service Medal

|-

|border|124px  Republic of Korea War Service Medal

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|border|124px  Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation

|}

|

{| class="wikitable"

! Ribbon/award name

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Vietnam War - Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)

|-

|border|124px  RVN Army Distinguished Service Order

|-

|border|124px  RVN Navy Distinguished Service Order

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|border|124px  RVN Air Force Distinguished Service Order

|-

|border|124px  RVN Military Merit Medal

|-

|border|124x124px  RVN Gallantry Cross (with Palm)

|-

|border|124px  RVN Air Gallantry Cross

|-

|border|124px  RVN Navy Gallantry Cross

|-

|border|124px  RVN Armed Forces Honor Medal

|-

|border|124px  RVN Civil Actions Medal (1st class)

|-

|border|124px  RVN Staff Service Medal

|-

|border|124px  RVN Special Service Medal

|-

|border|124x124px  RVN Training Service Medal

|-

|border|124px  RVN Presidential Unit Citation

|-

|border|124px  RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with palm and frame

|-

|border|124px  RVN Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation with palm and frame (1st class)

|-

|border|124px  RVN Campaign Medal with 1960- device

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Persian Gulf War

|-

|border|124px  Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)

|-

|border|124px  Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|International Awards (20th Century)

|-

|border|124px  United Nations Medal

|-

|border|124px  Multinational Force and Observers Medal

|-

|border|124px  Inter-American Defense Board Medal

|-

|border|124px  NATO Medal (Yugoslavia)

|-

|border|124px  NATO Medal (Kosovo)

|-

|border|124px  NATO Medal (Non-Article 5)

|-

|- bgcolor = "#ccccff" align=center

|Senior Military Awards (21st Century)

|-

|border|124px  Aeronautical Merit Cross (Peru)

|-

|border|124px  Cross of Honor (Germany)

|-

|border|124px  Khalifiyyeh Order of Bahrain

|-

|border|124px  Military Merit Order (United Arab Emirates)

|-

|border|124x124px  Order of the Crown of Thailand

|-

|border|124px  Order of the Date Palm (Iraq)

|-

|border|124px  Order of May (Argentina)

|-

|border|124px  Order of the Sword (Sweden)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Merit (Germany)

|-

|border|124px  Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

|-

|border|124px  Order of National Security Merit (Korea)

|-

|border|124px  Order of the Rising Sun (Japan)

|-

|border|124px  Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil)

|-

|}

|}

During the First and Second World Wars, the 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

  • 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 uniformed services of the United States
  • Unofficial combat badges of the United States Army
  • List of military decorations
  • State decoration
  • Army-Navy "E" Award
  • Medal inflation

References

Further reading

  • 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) [https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/pdf/r600_8_22.pdf]