| Combat Action Ribbon | |
|---|---|
  Top: Navy Combat Action Ribbon Bottom: Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon | |
| Type | Service ribbon, personal decoration |
| Awarded for | Active participation in ground or surface combat on or after December 7, 1941 |
| Presented by | United States Department of the Navy[1] U.S. Department of Homeland Security[2] |
| Eligibility | Satisfactory performance under enemy fire while actively participating in a ground or maritime engagement |
| Status | Current issue |
| Established | Navy Combat Action Ribbon (U.S. Department of the Navy): February 17, 1969 Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon (U.S. Department of Homeland Security): July 16, 2008 |
| First awarded | Navy Combat Action Ribbon: 1969 (retroactive to March 1961) |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Naval Service: Service achievement medals Coast Guard: Coast Guard Commandant's Letter of Commendation |
| Equivalent | Air and Space Forces: Combat Action Medal |
| Next (lower) | Presidential Unit Citation |
| Related | Combat Infantryman Badge (U.S. Army infantry and Special Forces equivalent) Combat Medical Badge (U.S. Army medical department equivalent) Combat Action Badge (U.S. Army other branch equivalent) |
The Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) is a United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Marine Corps military decoration awarded to United States sea service members "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat." Coast Guardsmen, Navy sailors, and Marines active in clandestine, stealth or special operations are deemed eligible for consideration of the award.[3] The ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy and Marine Corps with a rank no higher than captain and colonel, respectively.
The U.S. Navy first authorized the Combat Action Ribbon on 17 February 1969. The Navy ribbon was originally retroactive to March 1961; in 1999 it was made retroactive to 7 December 1941.
The Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon was authorized on 16 July 2008, and may be awarded to members of the Coast Guard in the rank of captain and below, "who have actively participated in ground or maritime combat."[3][4] The Coast Guard ribbon is retroactive to 1 May 1975 (during the Vietnam war Coast Guard members were awarded the Navy Combat Action ribbon). Coast Guardsmen in Vietnam riverine warfare operations were deemed eligible for award of the Navy Combat Action Ribbon.
Air combat does not meet the criteria for the Combat Action Ribbon; naval aviators, naval flight officers and enlisted naval air crewmen, while in the performance of aerial flight, are instead eligible for consideration for the Air Medal.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Info" (PDF). media.defense.gov. 2017.
- ^ "COMDTINST M1650.25E Medals and Awards Manual" (PDF). August 15, 2016. pp. 2–12, 2–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2017.