The Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon is the highest personal ribbon award of the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

. The decoration was established in March 1979 by Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 John B. Hayes

John B. Hayes

John Briggs Hayes was a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 16th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1978 to 1982....

.

The Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon is awarded to any member of the Coast Guard who receives a Letter of Commendation from the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. The ribbon is retroactive to August 12, 1921 which was when the Commandant’s Commendation Letter was first issued by Admiral William E. Reynolds.

Additional awards of the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon are denoted by award star

Award star

An award star is a decoration issued to personnel of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in lieu of multiple awards of the same award. An award star is very similar to an oak leaf cluster, which serves the same purpose in the United States Army and United States Air Force...

s, in lieu of additional ribbon bars. The Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon is considered a personal decoration subordinate to the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.

For those who earn the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbon through operational and field condition achievements, the Operational Distinguishing Device

Operational Distinguishing Device

The Operational Distinguishing Device is a decoration of the United States Coast Guard which may be awarded as an attachment to certain personal and unit awards. The device is awarded as a silver "O" device, either centered on the award ribbon or to the middle-right if there are an even number of...

 is authorized.

See also: Awards and decorations of the United States military

Awards and decorations of the United States military

Awards and decorations of the United States Military are military decorations which recognize service and personal accomplishments while a member of the United States armed forces...