USS Crommelin (FFG-37)
Encyclopedia
USS Crommelin (FFG-37), twenty-eighth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class
of guided-missile frigate
s, was named for five brothers: Vice Admiral Henry Crommelin (1904–1971), Rear Admiral John G. Crommelin
(died 1997), Captain Quentin Crommelin (died 1997), Commander Charles Crommelin (died 1945), and Lieutenant Commander Richard Crommelin (1917–1945). Crommelin (FFG-37) is the first ship of that name in the United States Navy
.
Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyard, Seattle, Washington
on 27 April 1979 as part of the Fiscal year 1979 program, Crommelin was laid down on 30 May 1980, launched on 2 July 1981, and commissioned on 18 June 1983.
In 1985, Crommelin was assigned to the carrier battle group
and deployed to the western Pacific
and Indian Ocean
s. During this deployment, Crommelin became the first FFG to successfully engage a high-speed, maneuvering target with missiles. It was also the first ship to complete an operational deployment with the LAMPS MK III weapon system. In June 1986, Crommelin received the first Chief of Naval Operations
LAMPS MK III Safety Award.
In the summer of 1986, Crommelin was awarded every departmental and divisional excellence award and won its first Navy "E" award. In 1987, Crommelin was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 13 and began an accelerated deployment with the Constellation battle group. Crommelin was the first FFG to deploy with two LAMPS MK III helicopters embarked. Crommelin was assigned to Commander, Middle East
Force from 1 July to 25 August 1987, earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation
and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
for the convoy
escort of the first five reflagged Kuwait
i tankers in Operation Earnest Will
.
On 1 January 1988, Crommelin was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 9, and on 6 March 1988, the ship received a second consecutive Navy "E" award. Upon completion of its second availability period at Todd Pacific Shipyard, Crommelin was deployed in March 1989 again to the Persian Gulf. In October 1990 Crommelin was deployed in support of joint service, counternarcotics operations in the Central, South America
n, and Caribbean theater
. Crommelin was awarded the Joint Services Meritorious Unit Award for its performance during this deployment. In 1991, Crommelin received the Navy "E" as well as its fifth consecutive warfare excellence awards for anti-air and anti-surface warfare, navigation and seamanship, damage control, engineering, and communications. On 1 September 1991, Crommelin shifted homeports to Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii
, and joined Destroyer Squadron 31.
Crommelin completed a second four-month counternarcotics deployment in the Central, South American and Caribbean theater from November 1992 to March 1993. Upon return to its homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Crommelin was assigned to Commander Naval Surface Group, Middle Pacific.
From 6 July to 14 December 1994, Crommelin was assigned to the battle group in the Western Pacific for Korea
n contingency operations. There, Crommelin received the Meritorious Unit Commendation Award for the prosecution of a Chinese
Han class submarine
. Upon completion of this deployment she underwent dry-docking SRA-5 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, following which she began the cycle for her 1996 Western Pacific deployment with the battle group.
After a three month work up cycle, Crommelin deployed with the Carl Vinson battle group on 20 May 1996. This deployment took Crommelin and her crew back to the Persian Gulf
for a variety of missions, including escorting ships through the Straits of Hormuz, patrolling the Northern Persian Gulf, and conducting maritime interception operations. Crommelin returned from that deployment on 20 November 1996.
Following WESTPAC 96, Crommelin entered SRA-6 from January to March 1997. Crommelin received upgrades to all major weapons systems as well as the engineering plant. Following this availability, Crommelin and her crew began yet another work up cycle to prepare for her fifth deployment to the Persian Gulf as part of the U.S. 5th Fleet. Crommelin departed Pearl Harbor on 21 February 1998. During this deployment Crommelin distinguished herself by setting a Fifth Fleet record for number of vessels boarded and tonnage of illegal Iraq
i petroleum
seized and diverted.
Crommelin completed a demanding nine week private sector SRA in early 1999, where she made major repairs and upgrades throughout the ship. Immediately following the SRA, Crommelin aggressively entered the inter-deployment training cycle and proceeded to set numerous records throughout her training. Chief among these was condensing what is normally a twelve week training cycle into nine weeks. Other achievements were completing cruise missile test qualification on the first day of training and completing engineering qualification with 100% of drills and 28 of 29 evolutions graded as "satisfactory".
With her training cycle complete, Crommelin departed Pearl Harbor on 24 August 1999 for a three month deployment to the Eastern Pacific in support of counter narcotics operations. During this deployment, Crommelin steamed 77 of 92 days, flew more than 350 mishap-free SH-60B flight hours, and was a key player in four major cocaine seizures. Upon her return to Pearl Harbor on 24 November 1999, Crommelin immediately began the work up cycle for her next deployment with battle group in August 2000.
In February 2000, Crommelin was awarded the Battle "E" for Destroyer Squadron 31 as well as each of the four command excellence awards. Other accomplishments included the 1999 Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet Retention Excellence Award, 1999, Commander Naval Surface Forces Pacific (COMNAVSURFPAC) Surface Ship Safety Award, COMNAVSURFPAC Self-Sufficient Ship of the Quarter Award (Q4 FY99 and Q2 FY00), and the distinction of being the first Pearl Harbor ship to hoist the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist Pennant.
During WESTPAC 2000, eighteen non-compliant vessels were boarded by Crommelin's Visit Board Search and Seizure Team, twelve were found to be smuggling petroleum products from Iraq and diverted to friendly ports for disposal of the ships and their illegal cargo. On the eve of the homecoming from deployment, Crommelin received her second consecutive Battle Efficiency Award.
From 18 April 2001 to June 2001, Crommelin was dry-docked at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for Dry-dock Selected Restricted Availability. In January 2002 Crommelin received the 2001 COMNAVSURFPAC Surface Ship Safety Award.
From 12 May 2004 to 12 November 2004, Crommelin was deployed to the SOUTHPAC AOR with Coast Guard
Law Enforcement Detachment
(LEDET) 105 in support of the war on drugs, conducting counter-narcotics operations in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. In that time, she became the most second most successful counter-narcotics ship with the seizure of 44806 lb (20,324 kg) of cocaine, including 26,369 pounds from the Belize-flagged vessel San Jose on 23 September 2004. She held that record until the bust of the Panamanian flagged motor vessel Gatun off the coast of Panama in March 2007, carrying approximately 42845 lb (19,434 kg) of cocaine. During this deployment, America's Battle Frigate also participated in exercises UNITAS-04 and PANAMAX-04, training the Navies and Coast Guards of various Central- and South-American countries in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism tactics at sea.
From 5 May 2006 to 15 September 2006, she participated in CARAT-06, along with , , and . In that time, Task Group 73.1 trained the Navies of several Southeast Asian countries in Maritime boarding and counter-terrorism tactics. Upon returning to home port, she entered an intensive dry dock period and as of May 2007, is preparing herself for continued operations in the wars on terror and drugs.
In November 2007 Crommelin Deployed to the Southcom AOR insupport of CounterNarco-Terroism Ops (CNT-OPS). On Christmas Eve 2007 Crommelin Stopped a 'go-fast' drug runner near the coast of Columbia carrying 5,200 lbs of cocaine. The Crommelin boarded close to 20 vessels involved in drug running operations during her 7 month deployment. Nearing the end of the deployment the Crommelin was awaiting the arrival of the USS George Washington into the Eastern Pacific AOR for a refueling operation. As the 2 ships came alongside each other the GW had a major fire break out onboard damaging 92 spaces onboard as well as shuting down part of their nuclear reactor. She quickly made for San Diego to conduct repairs while the Crommelin was left short on food and even lower on fuel. The Crommelin had to make an emergency stop in Mexico to refuel both food and fuel to make it back to Hawaii in June 2008. After a successful deployment Crommelin entered dry dock in October 2008 for repairs to keep her operational throughout the next decade. In 2010, Crommelin was again awarded the Battle "E" for Destroyer Squadron 31.
s. The central chevronel over which an anchor is placed alludes to the surface ship career of Vice Admiral Henry Crommelin, the oldest and first to serve of the brothers.
The linked chevronels suggest the strength and determination of U.S. naval forces in their efforts to regain enemy held territories of the Pacific Ocean throughout World War II
. It was in this effort that the Crommelin brothers so distinguished themselves.
The rampant sea lion is a symbolic creature associated with valor at sea; its head and mane are scarlet for courage and its body is gold for zeal and achievement. The scarlet sword recalls the fierce conflict of the Pacific war. The wings and silver collar with blue cross signify some of the decorations the brothers received, such as the Navy Cross
, the Silver Star
and the Distinguished Flying Cross
.
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
of guided-missile frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s, was named for five brothers: Vice Admiral Henry Crommelin (1904–1971), Rear Admiral John G. Crommelin
John G. Crommelin
Rear Admiral John Geraerdt Crommelin, Jr. was a prominent United States Navy officer and later a frequent political candidate who championed white supremacy.-Early life and naval career:...
(died 1997), Captain Quentin Crommelin (died 1997), Commander Charles Crommelin (died 1945), and Lieutenant Commander Richard Crommelin (1917–1945). Crommelin (FFG-37) is the first ship of that name in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyard, Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
on 27 April 1979 as part of the Fiscal year 1979 program, Crommelin was laid down on 30 May 1980, launched on 2 July 1981, and commissioned on 18 June 1983.
Operational history
Crommelin was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9 and reached its homeport of Long Beach, California in August 1983.In 1985, Crommelin was assigned to the carrier battle group
Carrier battle group
A carrier battle group consists of an aircraft carrier and its escorts, together composing the group. The first naval task forces built around carriers appeared just prior to and during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Navy was the first to assemble a large number of carriers into a single...
and deployed to the western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
s. During this deployment, Crommelin became the first FFG to successfully engage a high-speed, maneuvering target with missiles. It was also the first ship to complete an operational deployment with the LAMPS MK III weapon system. In June 1986, Crommelin received the first Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
LAMPS MK III Safety Award.
In the summer of 1986, Crommelin was awarded every departmental and divisional excellence award and won its first Navy "E" award. In 1987, Crommelin was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 13 and began an accelerated deployment with the Constellation battle group. Crommelin was the first FFG to deploy with two LAMPS MK III helicopters embarked. Crommelin was assigned to Commander, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
Force from 1 July to 25 August 1987, earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation
Meritorious Unit Commendation
The Meritorious Unit Commendation is a mid-level unit award of the United States military which is awarded to any military command which displays exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service, heroic deeds, or valorous actions....
and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States military, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy...
for the convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
escort of the first five reflagged Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
i tankers in Operation Earnest Will
Operation Earnest Will
Operation Earnest Will was the U.S. military protection of Kuwaiti owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.The U.S. Navy warships that escorted the tankers, part of...
.
On 1 January 1988, Crommelin was reassigned to Destroyer Squadron 9, and on 6 March 1988, the ship received a second consecutive Navy "E" award. Upon completion of its second availability period at Todd Pacific Shipyard, Crommelin was deployed in March 1989 again to the Persian Gulf. In October 1990 Crommelin was deployed in support of joint service, counternarcotics operations in the Central, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n, and Caribbean theater
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. Crommelin was awarded the Joint Services Meritorious Unit Award for its performance during this deployment. In 1991, Crommelin received the Navy "E" as well as its fifth consecutive warfare excellence awards for anti-air and anti-surface warfare, navigation and seamanship, damage control, engineering, and communications. On 1 September 1991, Crommelin shifted homeports to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and joined Destroyer Squadron 31.
Crommelin completed a second four-month counternarcotics deployment in the Central, South American and Caribbean theater from November 1992 to March 1993. Upon return to its homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Crommelin was assigned to Commander Naval Surface Group, Middle Pacific.
From 6 July to 14 December 1994, Crommelin was assigned to the battle group in the Western Pacific for Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n contingency operations. There, Crommelin received the Meritorious Unit Commendation Award for the prosecution of a Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Han class submarine
Han class submarine
The 4,500/5,500-ton Type 091 was the first nuclear-powered submarine class deployed by the People's Liberation Army Navy. The first Chief Designer of the submarine was an engineer and scientist of nuclear propulsion engineering Mr. Peng Shilu , then in 1983 succeeded by Mr...
. Upon completion of this deployment she underwent dry-docking SRA-5 at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, following which she began the cycle for her 1996 Western Pacific deployment with the battle group.
After a three month work up cycle, Crommelin deployed with the Carl Vinson battle group on 20 May 1996. This deployment took Crommelin and her crew back to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
for a variety of missions, including escorting ships through the Straits of Hormuz, patrolling the Northern Persian Gulf, and conducting maritime interception operations. Crommelin returned from that deployment on 20 November 1996.
Following WESTPAC 96, Crommelin entered SRA-6 from January to March 1997. Crommelin received upgrades to all major weapons systems as well as the engineering plant. Following this availability, Crommelin and her crew began yet another work up cycle to prepare for her fifth deployment to the Persian Gulf as part of the U.S. 5th Fleet. Crommelin departed Pearl Harbor on 21 February 1998. During this deployment Crommelin distinguished herself by setting a Fifth Fleet record for number of vessels boarded and tonnage of illegal Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
seized and diverted.
Crommelin completed a demanding nine week private sector SRA in early 1999, where she made major repairs and upgrades throughout the ship. Immediately following the SRA, Crommelin aggressively entered the inter-deployment training cycle and proceeded to set numerous records throughout her training. Chief among these was condensing what is normally a twelve week training cycle into nine weeks. Other achievements were completing cruise missile test qualification on the first day of training and completing engineering qualification with 100% of drills and 28 of 29 evolutions graded as "satisfactory".
With her training cycle complete, Crommelin departed Pearl Harbor on 24 August 1999 for a three month deployment to the Eastern Pacific in support of counter narcotics operations. During this deployment, Crommelin steamed 77 of 92 days, flew more than 350 mishap-free SH-60B flight hours, and was a key player in four major cocaine seizures. Upon her return to Pearl Harbor on 24 November 1999, Crommelin immediately began the work up cycle for her next deployment with battle group in August 2000.
In February 2000, Crommelin was awarded the Battle "E" for Destroyer Squadron 31 as well as each of the four command excellence awards. Other accomplishments included the 1999 Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet Retention Excellence Award, 1999, Commander Naval Surface Forces Pacific (COMNAVSURFPAC) Surface Ship Safety Award, COMNAVSURFPAC Self-Sufficient Ship of the Quarter Award (Q4 FY99 and Q2 FY00), and the distinction of being the first Pearl Harbor ship to hoist the Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist Pennant.
During WESTPAC 2000, eighteen non-compliant vessels were boarded by Crommelin's Visit Board Search and Seizure Team, twelve were found to be smuggling petroleum products from Iraq and diverted to friendly ports for disposal of the ships and their illegal cargo. On the eve of the homecoming from deployment, Crommelin received her second consecutive Battle Efficiency Award.
From 18 April 2001 to June 2001, Crommelin was dry-docked at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for Dry-dock Selected Restricted Availability. In January 2002 Crommelin received the 2001 COMNAVSURFPAC Surface Ship Safety Award.
From 12 May 2004 to 12 November 2004, Crommelin was deployed to the SOUTHPAC AOR with 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...
Law Enforcement Detachment
Law Enforcement Detachments
Law Enforcement Detachments or LEDETs are specialized, deployable maritime law enforcement teams of the United States Coast Guard. First established in 1982, their primary mission is to deploy aboard U.S. and allied naval vessels to conduct and support law enforcement, interdiction, or security...
(LEDET) 105 in support of the war on drugs, conducting counter-narcotics operations in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. In that time, she became the most second most successful counter-narcotics ship with the seizure of 44806 lb (20,324 kg) of cocaine, including 26,369 pounds from the Belize-flagged vessel San Jose on 23 September 2004. She held that record until the bust of the Panamanian flagged motor vessel Gatun off the coast of Panama in March 2007, carrying approximately 42845 lb (19,434 kg) of cocaine. During this deployment, America's Battle Frigate also participated in exercises UNITAS-04 and PANAMAX-04, training the Navies and Coast Guards of various Central- and South-American countries in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism tactics at sea.
From 5 May 2006 to 15 September 2006, she participated in CARAT-06, along with , , and . In that time, Task Group 73.1 trained the Navies of several Southeast Asian countries in Maritime boarding and counter-terrorism tactics. Upon returning to home port, she entered an intensive dry dock period and as of May 2007, is preparing herself for continued operations in the wars on terror and drugs.
In November 2007 Crommelin Deployed to the Southcom AOR insupport of CounterNarco-Terroism Ops (CNT-OPS). On Christmas Eve 2007 Crommelin Stopped a 'go-fast' drug runner near the coast of Columbia carrying 5,200 lbs of cocaine. The Crommelin boarded close to 20 vessels involved in drug running operations during her 7 month deployment. Nearing the end of the deployment the Crommelin was awaiting the arrival of the USS George Washington into the Eastern Pacific AOR for a refueling operation. As the 2 ships came alongside each other the GW had a major fire break out onboard damaging 92 spaces onboard as well as shuting down part of their nuclear reactor. She quickly made for San Diego to conduct repairs while the Crommelin was left short on food and even lower on fuel. The Crommelin had to make an emergency stop in Mexico to refuel both food and fuel to make it back to Hawaii in June 2008. After a successful deployment Crommelin entered dry dock in October 2008 for repairs to keep her operational throughout the next decade. In 2010, Crommelin was again awarded the Battle "E" for Destroyer Squadron 31.
Ship's crest
The colors blue and gold are traditionally associated with the U.S. Navy. The three interlaced chevronels represent the Crommelin brothers after whom the ship is named. The two winged chevronels refer to the air exploits of Lieutenant Commander Richard and Commander Charles Crommelin who served and died as Naval aviatorNaval Aviator
A United States Naval Aviator is a qualified pilot in the United States Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard.-Naming Conventions:Most Naval Aviators are Unrestricted Line Officers; however, a small number of Limited Duty Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are also trained as Naval Aviators.Until 1981...
s. The central chevronel over which an anchor is placed alludes to the surface ship career of Vice Admiral Henry Crommelin, the oldest and first to serve of the brothers.
The linked chevronels suggest the strength and determination of U.S. naval forces in their efforts to regain enemy held territories of the Pacific Ocean throughout World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was in this effort that the Crommelin brothers so distinguished themselves.
The rampant sea lion is a symbolic creature associated with valor at sea; its head and mane are scarlet for courage and its body is gold for zeal and achievement. The scarlet sword recalls the fierce conflict of the Pacific war. The wings and silver collar with blue cross signify some of the decorations the brothers received, such as the Navy Cross
Navy Cross
The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...
, the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
and the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
.