Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award

The Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award is a U.S. government unit decoration

Awards and decorations of the United States government

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...

which was established in 1992.

The Presidential Unit Citation and Joint Meritorious Unit Award

Joint Meritorious Unit Award

The Joint Meritorious Unit Award is a military award that was established on June 4, 1981 by Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and was implemented by Department of Defense Directive 1348.27 dated July 22, 1982...

are considered senior to the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award. Additional awards of the decoration are denoted by gold award stars.

Prior to 2003, the award was a unit decoration

Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard

Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard are military medals and ribbons of the United States Coast Guard which are currently issued under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security....

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...

. During the time period issued, it was the highest Coast Guard unit award that could be awarded and was presented to those Coast Guard units which performed outstanding service to the Coast Guard as a whole.

On November 3, 1994, Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena awarded the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Achievement Medal to the Coast Guard as a whole. The medal was mounted on a plaque and presented to Admiral Robert E. Kramek

Robert E. Kramek

Robert Edward Kramek is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 20th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1994 to 1998...

, then-Commandant of the Coast Guard

Commandant of the Coast Guard

The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard is the highest ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The Commandant is normally the only four-star Admiral in the Coast Guard and is appointed for a four-year term by the President of the United States upon confirmation by the United...

. In order to provide members of the Coast Guard with a device denoting this award, the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award was issued. This award consists of the ribbon-only to the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Achievement Medal, mounted in a gold frame.

With the transfer of the Coast Guard from the Department of Transportation

United States Department of Transportation

The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security, the authority to award the Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award appears to have remained with the Secretary of Transportation. However, the decoration still appears on military precedence charts and is authorized for continued wear on Coast Guard uniforms.

The only post-2003 issuance of the award appears to be in 2006 when President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

awarded it to the United States Merchant Marine Academy

United States Merchant Marine Academy

The United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five United States Service academies...

, marking the first Presidential commencement in that academy's history.

See also