The Coast Guard Cross (CGC) is the United States Coast Guard's second highest

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. DoD Manual 1348.33, 2010, Vol. 3 A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a med ...

for Coast Guardsmen who distinguish themselves extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. Established by Act of Congress on 15 October 2010, it is intended to recognize members of the United States Coast Guard for extraordinary heroism in action. Coast Guardsmen serving under the Department of the Navy would be eligible for the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' 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 eq ...

. This medal, though approved, has not yet been awarded. By virtue of having never been awarded, it is the rarest United States military award. The Coast Guard Cross is equivalent to the Army's

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Service ...

, Navy and Marine Corps'

, and Air Force and Space Force's Air Force Cross.

History

In the past, during times of war, the U.S. Coast Guard has operated as part of the Department of the Navy. According to law under , "personnel of the Coast Guard shall be eligible to receive gratuities, medals, and other insignia of honor on the same basis as personnel in the naval service or serving in any capacity with the Navy." This allows the award of the

for extraordinary heroism while engaged in combat or armed action. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, six Coast Guardsmen, four officers and two enlisted, were awarded the Navy Cross. On 4 August 1949, Public Law 63-535 was passed, bringing into force and . This law established the

Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal The Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal (CGDSM) is a military decoration of the United States Coast Guard that was established 4 August 1949 and is presented to coast guardsmen for "Exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty ...

and

Coast Guard Medal The Coast Guard Medal is a decoration of the United States military that is awarded to any service member who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Coast Guard, distinguishes themselves by heroism not involving actual conflict with ...

. These awards were intended to parallel the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and the

Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The medal was established by an act of Con ...

, being awarded under the same criteria to Coast Guardsmen when not serving as a part of the Department of the Navy. This began the creation of a separate system of awards and decorations for the U.S. Coast Guard when not operating under the Department of the Navy. In 1963, Public Law 88-77 even allowed for the award of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

to a Coast Guardsman who met the award's criteria, without specifically being under the orders of the Navy. On 15 October 2010, Public Law 111-281 was passed establishing the Coast Guard Cross under .

Criteria

The statute allows the President of the United States to award the Coast Guard Cross, to any person who distinguishes themselves by extraordinary heroism not justifying the award of the Medal of Honor, while serving in any capacity with the Coast Guard, when the Coast Guard is not operating under the Department of the Navy, under one of the following conditions: *While engaged in action against an enemy of the United States *While engaged in military operations involving conflict with a foreign opposing force or international

terrorist organization A number of national governments and two international organizations have created lists of organizations that they designate as terrorist. The following list of designated terrorist groups lists groups designated as terrorist by current and fo ...

*While serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

Appearance

The Coast Guard Cross is a four armed cross urdeé. It is made of red brass with a 24

karat The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardn ...

gold plated

matte Matte may refer to: Art * paint with a non-glossy finish. See diffuse reflection. * a framing element surrounding a painting or watercolor within the outer frame Film * Matte (filmmaking), filmmaking and video production technology * Matte pai ...

finish. The pendant is 2 1/4 inches high and 1 3/4 inches wide. Surmounting the cross is an integral suspension ring which takes the form of a rope with crossed oars. Between the arms of the cross are anchors. On the

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

, in the center of the cross is a

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

similar to that found in the Great Seal of the United States. The stripes of the shield are alternating red and white colored enamel, while the

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

is enameled blue with white five-pointed stars. The shield is surrounded by a wreath of twenty-six enameled green leaves. The reverse is identical to the obverse, except the center does not have a shield. In the center is the inscription ''FOR'' arched above and ''VALOR'' arched below. The cross is suspended from a 1 3/8 inch ribbon of

navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color n ...

. In the center is a 5/32 inch stripe of

scarlet Scarlet may refer to: * Scarlet (cloth), a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England * Scarlet (color), a bright tone of red that is slightly toward orange, named after the cloth * Scarlet (dye), the dye used to give the cloth its color * ...

, flanked by 1/16 inch stripes of

ultramarine blue Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afgh ...

, bordered in white. The Coast Guard Cross was designed by the

United States Army Institute of Heraldry The Institute of Heraldry, officially The Institute of Heraldry, Department of the Army, is an activity of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army solely responsible for furnishing heraldic services to President of the United ...

References

External links

New "Coast Guard Cross"
Military.com discussion thread with an image of the Coast Guard Cross. {{USCG decorations Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard Awards established in 2010

History

Criteria

Appearance

See also

References

External links