Medals and Medals of the United States Armed Forces
The medals and decorations of the United States Armed Forces are the military awards that the US president or the department heads of the armed services in the US Department of Defense (. Eg the Secretary of the Navy ) are given to the soldiers.
Emergence
During the First World War , medals for combat operations, such as the Medal of Honor for bravery in fighting the enemy, were awarded for the first time on a large scale. In addition to the “Distinguished Service Cross” and the “World War I Victory Medal” , it was the only one of the three medals that were awarded at the time. The US Air Force abolished its “Good Conduct Medals” in 2002 and introduced a “Combat Action Medal” in April 2007.
particularities
Many U.S. Army medals and decorations are worn with bronze, silver, or gold oak leaves to indicate multiple awards of the same medal , but not the Air Medal , which uses small Arabic gold numbers. A bronze oak leaf stands for another order of the same kind. Furthermore, five bronze oak leaves are replaced by a silver one and five silver ones by a golden oak leaf, whereby the golden oak leaves only exist theoretically. So was z. B. General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. et al. a. Bearer of the Silver Star with double oak leaves. So he received this medal three times.
Medals can also be awarded with stars, whereby there are two types: Award Stars and Service Stars .
- Award Stars are awarded for multiple awards of the same combat or valor award, but here the rule is that one silver star replaces five gold stars. They are used in place of oak leaves by the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Coast Guard.
- Service Stars are awarded for service or campaign awards, with five bronze stars being replaced by one silver and then by gold stars.
In addition, there is another award for highlighting the award of an order for bravery in the fight against an armed enemy, the so-called V device (German for "bravery emblem"). It has been awarded since December 22, 1945 with medals awarded for heroic deeds during a conflict against an armed enemy. Originally, this badge was only awarded together with the Bronze Star . Since February 29, 1964, it has also been allowed to award the V badge with the Air Medal and the Army Commendation Medal if the deeds are not sufficient for the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross or the Bronze Star . On June 25, 1963, the V badge was allowed to be awarded along with the Joint Service Commendation Medal , awarded for bravery during combat. If the V badge is awarded several times with the same distinction, only a V is worn on the medal. The criteria of the various branches of the armed forces are different.
From January 2016, the C device (C badge stands for Combat, German for "combat emblem") and the R device (R badge for remote, German for "remote control emblem") were introduced. The C badge is earned for service or performance under combat conditions in a war zone, whereby the soldier does not have to have fought himself. The intent of the C badge is to mark a particular award as deserved in the battlefield, as not all military medals are exclusively battle-related awards. The R device is awarded when a soldier is remotely operated by remote control e.g. B. a drone was involved in a combat operation. The C and R badges are the same color, size, and font as the V badge. The C-Badge is awarded to the medals for the various Service Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the various Achievement Medals. The R badge for the various Service Medals and the various Achievement Medals. In the event of an award, only one of the badges is awarded. The V has the highest priority, followed by the C and then the R. V badges may no longer be awarded to the Legion of Merit and Achievement Medals of the armed forces.
The United States National Guard soldiers have their own medals in the 50 states, the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico , Guam, and the US Virgin Islands .
Awards from the entire US armed forces
Department of Defense and Congress awards
Award of the Congress | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Medal of Honor | ||||
US Department of Defense Awards | ||||
Defense Distinguished Service Medal | Defense Superior Service Medal | Defense Meritorious Service Medal | Joint Service Commendation Medal | Joint Service Achievement Medal |
Joint Meritorious Unit Award | ||||
Medals of Merit
Awards for special merits | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Silver Star | |||||
Legion of Merit | Distinguished Flying Cross | Bronze star | Purple heart | Meritorious Service Medal | Air Medal |
Service awards
Service medals | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
National Defense Service Medal |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |
Humanitarian Service Medal |
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal |
Armed Forces Service Medal |
Reserve and special service medals | ||
---|---|---|
Armed Forces Reserve Medal | Prisoner of War Medal | Antarctica Service Medal |
Vietnam, Gulf War and Kosovo Service Medals | ||
---|---|---|
Vietnam Service Medal | Southwest Asia Service Medal | Kosovo Campaign Medal |
Service Medals for Service in the War on Terror and Iraq | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal | Afghanistan Campaign Medal | Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal | Iraq Campaign Medal | Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal |
US Army Awards
Medals of Merit
US Army Medals of Merit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Distinguished Service Cross | Distinguished Service Medal | Soldier's Medal | Army Commendation Medal | Army Achievement Medal |
Awards for good leadership
Awards for good leadership | |
---|---|
Army Good Conduct Medal | Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal |
Unit awards
Unit awards | |||
---|---|---|---|
Presidential Unit Citation | Valorous Unit Award | Meritorious Unit Commendation | Superior Unit Award |
In the US Army (and only there) it is mandatory that the unit markings be worn separately from the other markings on the right side of the uniform.
Service awards
Service awards as a ribbon | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Army Sea Duty Ribbon | NCO Professional Development Ribbon |
Army Service Ribbon | Army Overseas Service Ribbon |
Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon |
Medals of Merit
Mission Medals
Mission Medals | |
---|---|
Navy Expeditionary Medal | Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal |
Awards for good leadership
Awards for good leadership | |||
---|---|---|---|
Navy Good Conduct Medal |
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal |
Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal |
Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal |
Awards for marksmanship
Awards for marksmanship | |
---|---|
Navy Expert Pistol Medal | Navy Expert Rifle Medal |
Unit labeling
Unit awards as a ribbon | |||
---|---|---|---|
Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation | Navy Unit Commendation | Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation | Navy "E" ribbon |
Service awards
Service awards as a ribbon | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat Action Ribbon | Fleet Marine Force Ribbon | Sea Service Deployment Ribbon | Arctic Service Ribbon | Navy Ceremonial Guard Ribbon | Naval Reserve Sea Service Ribbon | Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon |
Navy Recruiting Service Ribbon | Marine Corps Recruiting Ribbon | Navy Recruit Training Service Ribbon | Marine Corps Drill Instructor Ribbon | Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon | Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon | Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon |
US Air Force Awards
Medals of Merit
U.S. Air Force Merit Awards | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Air Force Cross | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal | Airman's Medal | Aerial Achievement Medal | Air Force Commendation Medal | Air Force Achievement Medal |
Service medals
Service medals | ||
---|---|---|
Air Force Combat Action Medal | Combat Readiness Medal | Air and Space Campaign Medal |
Awards for good leadership
Awards for good leadership | |
---|---|
Air Force Good Conduct Medal | Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal |
Unit awards
Awards for good leadership | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Presidential Unit Citation | Gallant Unit Citation | Air Force Meritorious Unit Award | Outstanding Unit Award | Organizational Excellence Award |
Service awards
Awards for good leadership | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon | Air Force Recognition Ribbon | Air Force Overseas Short Tour Service Ribbon | Air Force Overseas Long Tour Service Ribbon | Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon | Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon |
Military Training Instructor Ribbon | Air Force Recruiter Ribbon | NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon | Air Force Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon | Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon | Air Force Training Ribbon |
Web links
- Handbook for Military Awards of the US Forces ( Memento of December 23, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) (English; PDF file)
- US Army Uniform Instructions and Labeling Sequence (English; PDF file; 2.81 MB)
- US Army Awards (English; PDF file; 809 kB)
- US-Army value of the awards "the pyramid of honor" (English)
- U.S. Navy Award Sequence ( April 23, 2009 memento on the Internet Archive )
- US Navy Uniform Regulations (English)
- US Marine Corps uniform regulations (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Pentagon reviewing 'V' device for consistency STARS AND STRIPES of October 26, 2006
- ↑ 12 military awards now eligible for new 'C' and 'R' devices, and 2 no longer rate a 'V' Military Time from March 30, 2016