The Special Operations Service Ribbon is a service award of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

which was first created 1 July 1987 by order of Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral

Paul A. Yost Jr. Paul Alexander Yost Jr. (January 3, 1929February 9, 2022) was an admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 18th commandant from 1986 to 1990. Early life and career He was a native of St. Petersburg, Florida. He graduated from th ...

The award is authorized for certain acts of non-combat meritorious service, for which no other service medal or ribbon is authorized. The four main areas of eligibility, for the presentation of the Special Operations Service Ribbon, are listed as follows: * Coast Guard operations of a special nature involving multiple agency involvement pertaining to national security or law enforcement. * Coast Guard operations of a special nature in support of special events drawing large media interest and public attention. * Coast Guard operations or involvement with foreign government in all areas of saving life and property at sea. * Coast Guard operations of assistance for friendly and/or developing nations. Initially a one-time award precluded from the use of

service stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

, multiple awards of the Special Operations Service Ribbon are now denoted by

. The

Commandant of the Coast Guard The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The commandant is an admiral, appointed for a four-year term by the president of the United States upon confirmation by the U ...

has also periodically authorized award of the Special Operations Service Ribbon to certain warships, aviation squadrons and other selected units of the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, primarily for support of USCG-led counter-narcotics (CN) and drug interdiction operations and to

and

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

units assisting in search-and-rescue and/or natural disaster operations in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard.

References

Awards and decorations of the United States Coast Guard Awards established in 1987 US Coast Guard ribbon symbolism {{USCG-stub

See also

References