Coast Guards
Medals and Awards - Overview
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Coast
Guard
Promotion Links |
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The Purpose of Military Awards
Military decorations are awarded in recognition of individual and/or
sustained acts of heroism, meritorious achievement or meritorious
service above and beyond that ordinarily expected, and which distinguish
an individual or unit from among those performing similar acts or
services. The judicious and timely use of personal decorations and
unit awards provides an effective means of fostering high morale,
incentive, and esprit de corps; therefore, recommendations for military
decorations and awards must be initiated promptly after the act or
period of service being recognized, in sufficient time to ensure presentation
before the recipient detaches from the unit at which the award was
earned.
Receipt of a unit/team award does not prohibit a deserving individual
from receiving a personal award for individual acts or services performed
during the same period. Only one medal representing a given decoration
will be issued to an individual. For subsequent awards of the same
decoration, stars will be issued.
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decorations distinguish an individual or unit from among those
performing similar acts or services. |
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Federal Law provides that any enlisted person who retires by reason
of 20+ years service, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, who
has been cited for extraordinary heroism in the line of duty, as
determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, is entitled to
an increase of 10 percent in retired pay (see
article 12-C-16 of the Personnel Manual, COMDTINST M1000.6 (series)).
Only awards senior to the Coast Guard Commendation medal, including
the Gold and Silver Lifesaving Medal, will receive consideration
for this added distinction, which must be documented (Statement
of Heroic Acts or Meritorious Achievement), where the awarding authority
is convinced the act, compared with other acts of heroism, stands
alone in comparison. More detailed information can be found in the
Coast
Guard Medals and Awards Manual.
Awards and Officer Promotions
Although the Coast Guard Officer Promotions System does not give
points for personal military awards. The performance associated
with the awards will have a direct affect on your OER and/or the
selection board decisions.
Awards and Enlisted Advancements
The Coast Guard Enlisted Advancement System grants promotion points
for awards and medals. These points count toward your final multiple
score (FMS) on the SWE. For E-4 through E-9 candidates, your FMS
is comprised of points earned from your advancement-in-rate examination
score, performance evaluations, service in paygrade, awards, and
previous examination performances.
Awards Breakdown
Awards must be approved by 01 February preceding the May SWE and
01 August preceding the November SWE. Award point(s) for SWE are
listed below:
| Award Credit |
Point
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| Medal of Honor |
10
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| Gold Lifesaving Medal and those military awards having a higher
precedence |
6
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| Bronze Star Medal |
5
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| Purple Heart |
4
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| Meritorious Service Medal |
4
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| Air Medal |
4
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| Silver Lifesaving Medal |
4
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| Commendation Medal from any U.S Armed Forces |
3
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| Achievement Medal from any U. S Armed Forces |
2
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| Combat Action Ribbon |
1
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| Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon |
1
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| Secretary of Transportation Letters of Commendation |
1
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| CG Good Conduct Medal |
1
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| CG Reserve Good Conduct Medal |
1
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Related Coast Guard Promotion Links:
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