The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the

uniformed services of the United States The United States has eight federal uniformed services that Officer (armed forces), commission officers as defined by Title 10 of the United States Code, Title 10 and subsequently structured and organized by Titles Title 10 of the United States ...

, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941 (the date of the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

and the start of American involvement in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

). The unit must display such gallantry, determination, and ''

esprit de corps Morale ( , ) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower ...

'' in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions so as to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same campaign. Since its inception by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

with the signing of Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, retroactive to 7 December 1941, to 2008, the Presidential Unit Citation has been awarded in conflicts such as World War II, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. The collective degree of valor (combat heroism) against an armed enemy by the unit nominated for the PUC is the same as that which would warrant award of the individual award of the Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross or

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is equivalent to the Army ...

. In some cases, one or more individuals within the unit may have also been awarded individual awards for their contribution to the actions for which their entire unit was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. The units with the most Presidential Unit Citations are submarine and the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...

, both with nine citations.

Creation and official format

Army, Air Force, and Space Force

The Army citation was established by Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, superseded by Executive Order 9396 on 2 December 1943, which authorized the Distinguished Unit Citation. As with other Army unit citations, the PUC is in a larger frame than other ribbons, and is worn above the right pocket. All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they personally participated in the acts for which the unit was cited; only those members assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award. For both the Army, Air Force, and Space Force the emblem is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. The Air and Space Forces PUC was adopted from the Army Distinguished Unit Citation after the Air Force became a separate military branch in 1947. By Executive Order 10694, dated Jan. 10, 1957 the Department of the Air Force redesignated the Distinguished Unit Citation as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Air and Space Forces PUC is the same color and design as the Army PUC but slightly smaller, so that it can be worn in alignment with other Air Force and Space Force ribbons on the left pocket following personal awards. As with the Army, all members of a receiving unit may wear the decoration while assigned to it, but only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award; or if any member of a receiving unit had it at their last duty station prior to being either discharged or retired, they may continue to wear the decoration as prescribed. The Citation is carried on the receiving unit's colors in the form of a blue streamer, long and wide. For the Army, only on rare occasions will a unit larger than battalion qualify for award of this decoration. US-Navy-PUC-Pennant

Navy and Marine Corps

Citations "to Naval and Marine Corps Units for Outstanding Performance in Action" was established by on 6 February 1942. The Navy version has navy blue, yellow, and red horizontal stripes, and is the only Navy ribbon having horizontal stripes. To distinguish between the two versions of the Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy version which is more often referred to simply as the Presidential Unit Citation, is referred to as the Navy Presidential Unit Citation and sometimes as the "Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation". The ribbon is worn by only by those Navy and Marine service members who were assigned to the unit for the "award period" of the award. In the Army, those who join the unit after the "award period" may also wear it while assigned to the unit. ALNan 137–43 states that the first award has a blue enameled star on the ribbon and additional stars for subsequent awards. In 1945 the Secretary of the Navy wrote the Iwo Jima PUC without the line "and all those attached to or serving with". In 1949, the award was changed with no star for the first award and bronze stars for subsequent awards.

Special clasps

=USS ''Nautilus'' (SSN-571)

To commemorate the first submerged voyage under the North Pole by the nuclear-powered submarine in 1958, all members of her crew who made that voyage were authorized to wear their Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a gold block letter N. U.S. Navy sailors assigned to the USS ''Nautilus'' memorial at the Submarine Force Museum in

Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...

, are permitted to wear the Navy Presidential Unit Citation with "N" device while serving there. As of 2014, the same device may be awarded for the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal for those personnel who work in direct support of

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...

operations who serve 179 non-consecutive days dispatched to a missile complex.

=USS ''Triton'' (SSRN-586)

To commemorate the first submerged circumnavigation of the world by the nuclear-powered submarine during its shakedown cruise in 1960, all members of her crew who made that voyage were authorized to wear their Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of a golden replica of the globe.

Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

units may be awarded either the Navy or Coast Guard version of the Presidential Unit Citation, depending on which service the Coast Guard was supporting when the citation action was performed. The current decoration is known as the "Department of Homeland Security Presidential Unit Citation". The original Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation was established under the authority of Executive Order 10694 (signed by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

on January 10, 1957), and amended by Section 74 of Executive Order 13286 (signed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

on February 28, 2003) to transfer the award of the USCG PUC to the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Special clasp

A Coast Guard version of the award was awarded to all U.S. Coast Guard and

Coast Guard Auxiliary The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary (USCGAUX, CGAux, or USCG Aux) is the uniformed, civilian volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard. Congress established the military organization, unit on 23 June 1939, as the United States Coa ...

personnel by President George W. Bush for rescue and relief operations in response to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

from 29 August 2005 to 13 September 2005. All who received the award for responding to Hurricane Katrina are authorized to wear the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon with a special clasp in the form of the internationally recognized hurricane symbol.

U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

The

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

Presidential Citation was established in 2015. The design was finalized by the Army Institute of Heraldry on 17 August 2015. On 24 September 2015, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

presented the Presidential Unit Citation to the officers of the

United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHSCC; also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service) is the uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health Service and one of t ...

for the 2013–2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the United States. On 19 January 2021, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

presented the citation to all Commissioned Corps officers serving from 2020 to 2021, for their extraordinary performance of duty during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. A gold frame is placed around the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon to indicate a second award.

Recipients

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States 1942 establishments in the United States Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force Awards and decorations of the United States Army Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard Awards and decorations of the United States Marine Corps Awards and decorations of the United States Navy Awards and decorations of the United States Space Force Awards established in 1942 Military awards and decorations of the United States