page_title: Colombian military decorations
section_title: Admiral Jose Prudencio Padilla Order of Naval Merit (Orden del Mérito Naval "Almirante Padilla")
hierarchical_section_title: Colombian military decorations / Admiral Jose Prudencio Padilla Order of Naval Merit (Orden del Mérito Naval "Almirante Padilla")
caption_attribution_description: English: Colombian Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos shakes the hand of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace after presenting him with the Cross of the Boyaca medal during a ceremony in Cartagena, Colombia, Sept. 13, 2007. The Cross of the Boyaca is the highest military award that can be conferred on a Colombian or foreign officer.
context_page_description: Colombian military decorations date back as far as the founding of the country. An early decoration was the Cruz de Boyacá that was awarded to the generals who led their forces to victory in the Battle of Boyacá in 1819. This early decoration lives on today as an incarnation of the highest order presented by the Colombian state. There is one decoration higher, but it is only awarded for military conflicts in defence of Colombia. Other than military decorations, Colombia presents decorations on behalf of the National Government, decorations for the National Police, and decorations from the Congress of Colombia.
context_section_description: Awarded to naval personnel for acts of courage or outstanding service to maritime science or naval development. The badge is a silver cross pattée with raised rim & slightly concave terminations, with a large oak leaf in the angles between each arm; the very large central medallion bears a silver fouled anchor on horizontal yellow-blue-red stripes, enclosed within a ring. The breast star has the badge of the order on a star of 16 rays (major rays are square bundles of three, while the minor rays each consist of a single sharp ray) with distinctive spaces appearing between each bundle of rays. The badge is suspended by a spread-wing condor from an aquamarine ribbon with three equally-spaced medium width white stripes.
caption: Sash of the Order
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