# Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard

Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard are military medals and ribbons of the United States Coast Guard which are currently issued under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.
Prior to 2002, such awards were issued by the Secretary of Transportation and Coast Guard personnel were eligible to receive a variety of Department of Transportation (DOT) civilian decorations. Since transferring to the Department of Homeland Security, the issuance of DOT awards has been discontinued in the Coast Guard, although such awards may still be seen on active duty Coast Guard uniforms.
Coast Guard military awards are similar to U.S. Navy awards (often with nearly identical ribbons save for an additional white stripe) and Coast Guard personnel are eligible to receive all inter-service awards and decorations, authorized foreign awards and international decorations.
The current active awards and decorations of the U.S. Coast Guard are as follows:

## Coast Guard Medals
### Personal Awards and Decorations

| Coast Guard Cross | Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal | Coast Guard Medal | Coast Guard Commendation Medal | Coast Guard Achievement Medal |

### Coast Guard Good Conduct and Service Medals

| Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal | Coast Guard Reserve Good Conduct Medal | Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal |

### Coast Guard Lifesaving Medals

| Gold Lifesaving Medal | Silver Lifesaving Medal |

## Coast Guard Unit Awards

| Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation | DHS Outstanding Unit Award | Coast Guard Unit Commendation | Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation | Meritorious Team Commendation | Coast Guard "E" Ribbon |

## Coast Guard Ribbons

| Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon | Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon | Enlisted Person of the Year Ribbon | Special Operations Service Ribbon | Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon |
| Restricted Duty Ribbon | Coast Guard Overseas Service Ribbon | Coast Guard Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon | Coast Guard Recruiting Service Ribbon |

## Coast Guard Marksmanship Awards/Medals

| Coast Guard Distinguished Marksman Award/Badge | Coast Guard Distinguished Pistol Shot Award/Badge | Coast Guard Rifleman Excellence-In-Competition Award/Badge (Rifleman EIC Badges earned at national matches have the word "NATIONAL" etched at their base.) | Coast Guard Pistol Shot Excellence-In-Competition Award/Badge (Pistol Shot EIC Badges earned at national matches have the word "NATIONAL" etched at their base.) |
* President's Hundred Tab
* Enlisted Only
| Coast Guard Expert Rifleman Medal | Coast Guard Expert Pistol Shot Medal |
| Coast Guard Rifle Sharpshooter Ribbon | Coast Guard Pistol Sharpshooter Ribbon | Coast Guard Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon | Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon |

## Order of precedence

The following is the ribbon order of precedence authorized for wear by the U.S. Coast Guard. The list contains awards and decorations for the departments of Defense (including Army, Navy and Air Force), Homeland Security and Transportation:
    Key:
       Bold = denotes agency-level (DHS or DOT) award or U.S. Coast Guard award
       Bold italic = denotes U.S. Coast Guard award is obsolete
       Italic = denotes award is obsolete
* Personal decorations
| Medal of Honor | Coast Guard Cross | Navy Cross | Distinguished Service Cross | Air Force Cross | Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal |
| Transportation Distinguished Service Medal | Defense Distinguished Service Medal | Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal | Navy Distinguished Service Medal | Army Distinguished Service Medal | Air Force Distinguished Service Medal |
| Silver Star | DOT's Secretary Award for Outstanding Achievement | Defense Superior Service Medal | Guardian Medal | Legion of Merit | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Coast Guard Medal | Navy and Marine Corps Medal | Soldier's Medal | Airman's Medal | Gold Lifesaving Medal | Bronze Star |
| Purple Heart | Defense Meritorious Service Medal | Meritorious Service Medal | Air Medal | Silver Lifesaving Medal | Aerial Achievement Medal |
| DOT's Secretary Award for Meritorious Achievement | Joint Service Commendation Medal | Coast Guard Commendation Medal | Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal | Army Commendation Medal | Air Force Commendation Medal |
| DOT's Secretary Award for Superior Achievement | Joint Service Achievement Medal | Transportation 9-11 Medal | Coast Guard Achievement Medal | Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal | Army Achievement Medal |
| Air Force Achievement Medal | Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon | Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon | Navy Combat Action Ribbon (Navy/Marine Corps) | | |
* Unit decorations
| Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation | Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation | Army and Air Force Presidential Unit Citation | Department of Homeland Security Outstanding Unit Award | Joint Meritorious Unit Award | Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award |
| Coast Guard Unit Commendation | Navy Unit Commendation | Air Force Gallant Unit Citation | Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation | Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation | Air Force Meritorious Unit Award |
| Meritorious Team Commendation | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | Coast Guard "E" Ribbon | Navy "E" Ribbon | Air Force Organizational Excellence Award | Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation |
* Conduct medals
| Prisoner of War Medal | Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal | Navy Good Conduct Medal | Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal | Army Good Conduct Medal | Air Force Good Conduct Medal |
| | Coast Guard Reserve Good Conduct Medal | Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal | Selected Marine Corps Reserve Medal | Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal | Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal |
* U.S. service, campaign and training awards
* Authorized non-U.S. service awards and foreign decorations
* Marksmanship awards