Certain personal decorations and unit awards are worn in the order earned or received, regardless of precedence.
Ribbons Worn in Chronological Order Earned or Received
These instructions, which apply to both regular and Auxiliary Coast Guard uniforms, are relevant only if you selected two or more ribbons in at least one of these categories:
- ■ Two or more U. S. non-military personal decorations and unit awards.
- ■ Two or more non-U.S. personal decorations and unit awards.
Ribbons within these two separate groups are worn in the order received or earned. If at least two ribbons are selected in one category, they have been highlighted in magenta or lime in your completed ribbon rack. (See examples above.)
Within each color highlighted group in your ribbon rack, the order of the ribbons depends on the dates they were earned, with the most senior ribbon in the group first. If you cannot determine the chronological order, then use the order of precedence shown in the master Ribbon Checker checklist or your completed ribbon rack.
If you need help identifying a ribbon, you can click or tap on it to see more information, or hover over it to see only its name.
A complete list of selected ribbons in precedence order appears below your assembled ribbon rack; this can be copied to your clipboard for pasting into an email or word processor.
The magenta group (■ U.S. nonmilitary personal decorations and unit awards) and the lime-colored group (■ non-U.S. personal decorations and unit awards) remain separate as shown in your ribbon rack. However, the sequence of ribbons within each color group may need the change. RibbonChecker only displays ribbons in order of their precedence.
Within each group, personal decorations are always more senior than unit awards.
Be sure to specify the exact order of wear when purchasing pre-assembled ribbon racks. In general, if RibbonChecker marked any ribbons with magenta or lime borders, as a practical matter Coast Guard manner of wear rules may prevent the use of commercial ribbon checkers when ordering ribbons in pre-assembled racks from commercial vendors.
If in doubt, consult a knowledgeable Coast Guard member or the ribbon vendor before ordering a preassembled rack containing two or more of these ribbons.