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Awards and decorations of the National Guard are presented to members of the United States National Guard and sometimes to members of the state defense forces in addition to regular United States military decorations. Each of the state governments of the United States maintains a series of military decorations for issuance to members of the National Guard, with such awards presented under the authority of the various state adjutants general.
The United States National Guard, also commonly referred to as the National Guard, is part of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. It is a reserve military force composed of National Guard military members or units of each state and the territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, for a total of 54 separate organizations. All members of the National Guard of the United States are also members of the militia of the United States as defined by 10 U.S.C. § 246. National Guard units are under the dual control of the state and the federal government.
State defense forces in the United States are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state.
A state government is the government of a country subdivision in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or be subject to the direct control of the federal government. This relationship may be defined by a constitution.
Those National Guard soldiers and airmen who subsequently serve in the active or reserve federal forces of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or United States Air Force (i.e., as active duty or reserve members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard) may not continue to wear and display such decorations on a military uniform, unless such activation is under Title 32 status. Active duty regulations allow federal soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines to accept but not to wear state awards.
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution. As the oldest and most senior branch of the U.S. military in order of precedence, the modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)—before the United States of America was established as a country. After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army, and dates its institutional inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. With the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the U.S. Navy is the third largest of the U.S. military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the third-largest air force in the world, after the United States Air Force and the United States Army.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations with the United States Navy as well as the Army and Air Force. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.
Most states authorize the wear of other states' awards if a soldier or airman has earned awards from a state or territory to which he or she is not presently assigned. The order of precedence is typically the presently assigned state, followed by awards from the District of Columbia, then other states by their order of admission.
The following is a list of National Guard decorations, as issued by each of the fifty United States; Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia.
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are currently 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory and shares its sovereignty with the federal government. Due to this shared sovereignty, Americans are citizens both of the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons restricted by certain types of court orders. Four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names.
Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and briefly called Porto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami, Florida.
Guam is an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States, along with the Northern Mariana Islands. The capital city of Guam is Hagåtña and the most populous city is Dededo. The inhabitants of Guam are called Guamanians, and they are American citizens by birth. Indigenous Guamanians are the Chamorros, who are related to other Austronesian natives of Eastern Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Guam has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1983.
Alabama National Guard State Awards: [1]
Alaska National Guard State Awards: [2]
Arizona National Guard State Awards:
Arkansas National Guard State Awards:
California National Guard State Awards:
Colorado National Guard State Awards:
Connecticut National Guard State Awards:
Delaware National Guard State Awards:
Subsequent Awards: Gold Star - The gold star represents subsequent entitlements for the Delaware Conspicuous Service Cross and the Delaware National Guard Medal. The gold star is 3/16" in diameter and will be affixed to the ribbon of the medal. [15] Bronze Numerals - The bronze numeral represents subsequent entitlements of the Delaware Distinguished Service Medal, Delaware Medal for Military Merit, Delaware National Defense Service Ribbon, Delaware Medal for Service in Aid to Civil Authority, Delaware Recruiting Ribbon, and the Delaware Physical Fitness Ribbon. The bronze numeral is 3/16" in diameter and will be affixed to the ribbon of the medal. [16]
District of Columbia National Guard District Awards:
Florida National Guard State Awards:
Georgia National Guard State Awards:
Hawaii National Guard State Awards:
Idaho National Guard State Awards:
Indiana National Guard State Awards:
Iowa National Guard State Awards:
Kansas National Guard State Awards: [23]
Kentucky National Guard Commonwealth Awards: [24]
Louisiana National Guard State Awards:
Maine National Guard State Awards: [25]
Maryland National Guard State Awards:
Massachusetts National Guard Commonwealth Awards:
Michigan National Guard State Awards: [26] [27]
Minnesota National Guard State Awards:
Mississippi National Guard State Awards [28]
Missouri National Guard State Awards:
Montana National Guard State Awards:
Nebraska National Guard State Awards
Nevada National Guard State Awards: [29]
New Jersey National Guard State Awards:
New Mexico National Guard State Awards:
New York state military awards:
North Carolina National Guard State Awards:
North Dakota National Guard State Awards: [30]
Air National Guard Awards:
Army National Guard Awards:
Worn on right side, after federal awards:
Obsolete or no longer awarded:
Oklahoma National Guard State Awards:
Oregon National Guard State Awards:
Pennsylvania National Guard Commonwealth Awards:
Puerto Rico National Guard Commonwealth Awards:
Rhode Island medals are prescribed in Title 30 of the Rhode Island Code.
South Carolina National Guard State Awards:
South Dakota National Guard State Awards:
Tennessee National Guard Awards: [31]
Utah National Guard State Awards:
Reference Pictures available at https://web.archive.org/web/20061208051453/http://armyawards.com/arng/ut/utawards.shtml.
Vermont National Guard State Awards:
Related:
Virgin Islands National Guard Territory Awards
Listed in order of precedence when worn or displayed:
Washington National Guard State Awards:
Washington Air National Guard Awards:
West Virginia National Guard State Awards:
Wisconsin National Guard State Awards:
Wyoming National Guard State Awards
The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth version existing for acts of joint military service performed under the Department of Defense.
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or service in combat or non-combat, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps award units the Navy MUC for valorous or meritorious achievement or service in combat or non-combat, and the U.S. Coast Guard awards units the Coast Guard MUC for valorous or meritorious achievement or service not involving combat.
The Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR) is a military force which supports the State of Ohio along with the Ohio Army National Guard and Ohio Air National Guard in times of natural disaster and state and national emergencies.
United States law enforcement decorations are awarded by the police forces of the United States of America. Since the United States has a decentralized police force, with separate independent departments existing on the state and local level, there are literally thousands of law enforcement decorations in existence.
The orders and decorations conferred upon civilians and military personnel in the Republic of the Philippines, are listed by order of precedence. The first list is of civilian awards, which take precedence over and above military awards. The next list is of awards conferred upon the military or formerly military units. Philippine civilian orders and decorations are conferred by the President of the Philippines, in his or her capacity as head of state. In certain instances, the conferment of certain orders and decorations requires the concurrence of the Congress of the Philippines, or of certain advisory bodies.
Awards and decorations of the United States government are civilian awards of the U.S. federal government which are typically issued for sustained meritorious service, in a civilian capacity, while serving in the U.S. federal government. Certain U.S. government awards may also be issued to military personnel of the United States Armed Forces and be worn in conjunction with awards and decorations of the United States military. In order of precedence, those U.S. non-military awards and decorations authorized for wear are worn after U.S. military personal decorations and unit awards and before U.S. military campaign and service awards.
Awards and decorations of the Vietnam War were military decorations which were bestowed by the major warring parties during the years of the Vietnam War. North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States all issued awards and decorations during the conflict.
The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of over 8,000 Guardsmen. The New Jersey Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germany, Kosovo, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Egypt. The Guard has also deployed to help with the recovery from Hurricane Irma in Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hurricane Maria in Florida and Puerto Rico, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
Awards and decorations of the state defense forces are presented to members of the state defense forces in addition to regular United States military decorations and state National Guard military decorations. Each of the state governments of the United States maintains a series of decorations for issuance to members of the state defense forces, with such awards presented under the authority of the various state adjutants general and/or respective state defense force commanders.
The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Military Department, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army (OKARNG) and Air (OKANG) National Guard components. The Governor of Oklahoma is Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard when not on federal active duty. The state's highest-ranking military commander, the Adjutant General of Oklahoma (TAG), serves as the military head of the Guard and is second only to the Governor. The TAG is served by three Assistant Adjutants General, all brigadier generals, two from the Army Guard in the state, and the other the Air Guard chief. These positions are held by Army BG Steve D. Elliott, Army BG Louis W. Wilham, and Air Force BG Thomas W. Ryan. The two components each have a senior noncommissioned officer, State Command Sergeant Major for Army, currently CSM Tony F. Riggs, and State Command Chief Master Sergeant for Air, currently CCMSgt Ronald D. Teague. The TAG is also served by his Director of the Joint Staff or Chief of Staff, who has direct oversight of the state's full-time National Guard military personnel and civilian employees. This position is held by Army BG Jon M. Harrison.
Colonel Héctor Andrés Negroni is an Air Force officer, historian, senior aerospace defense executive, author and the first Puerto Rican graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He was commissioned by Spain's Fifth Centennial Commission to write the "Historia Militar de Puerto Rico".
Brigadier General Rodney L. Johnson is a retired senior officer of the United States Army.
The Mississippi State Guard (MSSG) is the state defense force of Mississippi. It operates under the authority of the Mississippi Military Department alongside the Mississippi Army National Guard (MSARNG) and the Mississippi Air National Guard (MSANG).
The South Carolina State Guard (SCSG) is the designated state defense force for the state of South Carolina. Its official website is www.sg.sc.gov.
Awards and decorations of the Illinois National Guard are provided to honor the service and dedication of the men and women who serve in the Illinois Army National Guard and the Illinois Air National Guard.
James A. Adkins is a retired senior military officer and former cabinet-level official in state government having served as Maryland's Adjutant General and Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Antonio J. Vicens-Gonzalez was the 18th Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard from January 2, 2009 to December 2012. The Adjutant General is the Commander of the Puerto Rico National Guard. As the Adjutant General he was also the Senior Military Advisor to the Governor of Puerto Rico and oversees both State and Federal Missions of the PR National Guard. He provides effective leadership and management in the implementation of all programs and policies affecting more than 10,500 citizen-soldiers and airmen, and civilian employees of the three components of the PR National Guard: Army National Guard, Air National Guard and Puerto Rico State Guard. MG Vicens holds a B.B.A-Management Degree from the University of Puerto Rico.
Major General Donald P. Dunbar is Wisconsin's Adjutant General. He commands the Wisconsin National Guard and is in the United States Air National Guard. Dunbar is responsible for Emergency Management in the state. He also serves as Wisconsin's Homeland Security Advisor, chairs the Homeland Security Council, and serves as the senior state official for cyber matters. Dunbar also serves on the executive committees of the Governor's Homeland Security Advisors Council (GHSAC) and the Adjutants General Association of the United States (AGAUS), and is a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Advisory Council. With the retirement of Major General Thaddeus J. Martin of the Connecticut National Guard on June 30, 2018, General Dunbar became the longest serving Adjutant General in the United States.
Major General Alfred F. Ahner was an Indiana National Guard officer who served for 15 years as the state's Adjutant General.
John Frederick Nichols is a retired Major General in the United States Air National Guard and the former Adjutant General of Texas.