Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation — Military Decorations

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal and Ribbon Design Images

What is the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation Decoration?

The ribbon itself can be identified by it?s green design. It is green with blue and white edges and a white-edged pale blue central stripe.

The four foot long streamer for unit guidons and flags is a duplicate of the design for the service ribbon.

The United States military sorts decorations into categories called Classes and Types. The Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation medal is classified as a Unit Award of the type Meritorious Unit Commendation.

How Do You Earn the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation?

The Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation was established in 1973, and is awarded in the name of the Commandant of the Coast Guard. It may be awarded to any unit of the Coast Guard that has distinguished itself by either valorous or meritorious achievement or service in support of Coast Guard operations not involving combat.

The Commandant may also bestow the award upon a unit of another branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, provided the unit meets the standards established for Coast Guard units. To justify the award, the service performed as a unit must be comparable to that which would meet the award of a Coast Guard Achievement Medal to an individual. Normal performance of duty or participation in a large number of operational missions does not in itself justify the award. It will not be awarded to a large unit for actions of one or more of its sub-units unless the entire unit performed as a team.

Displaying the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation

The Order of Precedence of the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation is 51, and this precedence is used when placing the associated service ribbon on your uniform ribbon rack. You can see a full list of decorations in the order of precedence on the Decorations homepage.

All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they personally participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award.

The service ribbon is worn after the Coast Guard Unit Commendation and before the Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation. Additional awards of the Coast Guard MUC are denoted by  5/16 inch gold stars. The MUC may also be awarded with the Operational Distinguishing Device, denoted by a  1/4 inch silver letter "O" centered on the ribbon.

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