Results for decorations

How do unit awards differ from individual decorations in the way they are worn?

Unit award emblems are worn on the right side of the service or dress coat, above the pocket, in a gold frame. Individual decorations and ribbons are worn on the left side. A Soldier keeps a unit award permanently only if assigned to the unit during the period cited; otherwise it is worn only while assigned.

List the order of precedence of U.S. military decorations from the Medal of Honor down through the Army Achievement Medal.

Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal.

What regulation governs Army awards and decorations?

AR 600-8-22, Military Awards. It sets the criteria, the approval authorities, and the order of precedence. DA PAM 670-1 then shows how those awards are arranged and worn on the uniform.

Military Awards

AR 600-8-22 governs decorations, service medals, badges, and the order of precedence. It sets who may approve what, what the criteria are, and how recommendations move. It is revised often -- the 11 May 2026 expedited revision is the third edition since January 2024.

Order of precedence for awards

The overall order in which categories of awards are worn, the order of U.S. military decorations from the Medal of Honor down, and the Army unit awards.

How are ribbons arranged on the service uniform?

Ribbons are worn in order of precedence, reading from the wearer's right to left and from the top row down. Rows are built so that no row contains more ribbons than the row beneath it. Placement measurements for the coat and shirt are in DA PAM 670-1.

How does a Soldier show a second or subsequent award of the same decoration?

With an oak leaf cluster on the ribbon for most Army decorations. Numerals, service stars, and other devices are used on specific awards where the regulation prescribes them, such as campaign stars on service medals. The device authorized for each award is listed in AR 600-8-22.

Name the Army unit awards in order of precedence.

Presidential Unit Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Army Superior Unit Award.

What are the criteria for the Army Good Conduct Medal?

It is awarded to enlisted Soldiers for exemplary behavior, efficiency, and fidelity over a qualifying period of continuous honorable active federal service. The standard qualifying period is three years. Shorter periods are recognized in specific cases the regulation lists, such as separation before three years under qualifying conditions or service during a designated period of war.

What is the difference between the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Combat Action Badge?

The Combat Infantryman Badge goes to Soldiers holding an infantry or special forces military occupational specialty, in the grade of colonel or below, who satisfactorily perform their duty while assigned or attached to an infantry or special forces unit of brigade size or smaller during a period in which the unit is engaged in active ground combat. The Combat Action Badge goes to Soldiers who are not eligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge or the Combat Medical Badge and who are personally present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy.

What is the Expert Soldier Badge and who can earn it?

The Expert Soldier Badge is the expertise badge for Soldiers who are not eligible for the Expert Infantryman Badge or the Expert Field Medical Badge. It is earned by passing a demanding standardized test of physical fitness, weapons, land navigation, and warrior tasks. It is a special skill badge, not a combat badge.

What is the highest award for valor, and who awards it?

The Medal of Honor. It is awarded by the President in the name of Congress for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy of the United States.

What is the overall order of precedence for wearing awards on the uniform?

U.S. military decorations, U.S. unit awards, U.S. nonmilitary decorations, the Good Conduct Medal, U.S. campaign and service medals, U.S. service and training ribbons, U.S. Merchant Marine awards, foreign military decorations, foreign unit awards, and non-U.S. service awards.

What is the second highest Army decoration for valor?

The Distinguished Service Cross. It is awarded for extraordinary heroism in action against an enemy of the United States where the action does not justify the Medal of Honor. The Navy Cross and the Air Force Cross are its equivalents in those services.

What is the Soldier's Medal awarded for?

Heroism not involving conflict with an armed enemy. The act must involve voluntary risk of life. It is a high decoration, and the standard is deliberately demanding: saving a life at genuine personal risk, not simply performing well in an emergency.

Who is eligible for the Purple Heart?

A Soldier who is wounded or killed as a result of enemy action, or of an act of an international terrorist attack or friendly fire under the conditions the regulation specifies. The wound must have required treatment by a medical officer and the treatment must be documented in the Soldier's records. It is an entitlement based on the wound, not a recommendation weighed against other Soldiers.