A marksmanship ribbon is a United States Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard award that is issued to its members who pass a weapons qualification course and achieve an above-average score. Additionally, there are select state National Guard organizations that award marksmanship ribbons for high placement in state-level marksmanship competitions.
Small-arms Qualification Course exam aboard USS America
The U.S. Navy has issued these two marksmanship awards since 1920: the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon which is currently awarded for qualification on the Beretta M9 9mm pistol, and the Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon which is currently awarded for qualification on the M4 variant.[1]
The Navy issues the marksmanship ribbon in three levels of precedence: Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman. The basic ribbon is awarded for the Marksman level while the specific ribbon device is awarded for qualification as a Sharpshooter or Expert. Those receiving an Expert qualification receive the Marksmanship Medal and Marksmanship Ribbon.[1]
The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force awards a single ribbon, known as the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, for an expert qualification on either the M16 rifle, M4 carbine or the M9 or M17/18 pistol. The ribbon is issued in only one degree; however, a 3⁄16 inch bronze star may be worn on the ribbon for those who have qualified expert on both the service rifle and pistol.[3] The ribbon was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force on Aug. 28, 1962, and was awarded to all Air Force and Space Force members who qualified after Jan. 1, 1963. Prior to the conception of a ribbon, Air Force members were awarded with the United States Air Force Small Arms Marksmanship Certificate of Achievement (AF Form 1193 Jan 1961).
U.S. Coast Guardedit
The U.S. Coast Guard Marksmanship Ribbons are issued under the same criteria as the U.S. Navy, but Coast Guardsmen use a .40 cal SIG SauerP229R DAK pistol instead of the Navy's M9 pistol. The Coast Guard issues two ribbons, known as the Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and the Coast Guard Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon. The ribbon device is awarded for qualification at the higher levels of sharpshooter and expert. Like the Navy, for those who receive an expert qualification, the Marksmanship Medal is awarded instead of the Marksmanship Ribbon.[4]
U.S. National Guardedit
Missouri National Guard Governor's Twelve Ribbon
Once a year, thousands of U.S. Army and Air National Guard shooters (champion marksmanship teams from each state) compete against each other at the Winston P. Wilson Rifle and Pistol Championships. In the Missouri National Guard, the top twelve guardsmen selected to represent their state at the Winston P. Wilson matches are awarded the Governor's Twelve Ribbon which is worn on dress uniforms; any guardsman who earns the award more than once wear Hawthorn Cluster device(s) on top of the ribbon. In addition, these guardsman are awarded the Governor's Twelve Tab for wear on the combat uniform.[5][6]
Missouri National Guard Adjutant General's Twenty Ribbon
Similarly, the Adjutant General of Missouri awards the Adjutant General's Twenty Ribbon to soldiers and airmen who qualify among the top twenty competitors at the Missouri State Combat Matches conducted each year; specifically the top eight combat rifle shooters, the top eight pistol shooters, the top two light machine gun teams, and the top two scout/sniper teams. In addition to this ribbon, these guardsman are also awarded the Adjutant General's Twenty Combat Badge for wear on the combat uniform.[5]
Guardsmen are authorized to wear these ribbons as a permanent decoration on service dress uniforms, to the left of federal awards, when operating under Title 32 (state control) status. When federalized (Title 10), guardsman cannot wear these ribbons until they return to Title 32 status.[5][7]
Additional Informationedit
The U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps provide weapons qualification badges instead of a marksmanship ribbon. For the services that award the marksmanship ribbon, re-qualification is not necessary once a service member has obtained the award, and the ribbon may be worn throughout an individual's career. In the Navy and Coast Guard, the marksmanship ribbon may be upgraded with a specific ribbon device if a higher qualification is achieved.[7][8]
^ abOPNAVINST 3591.1F, Small Arms Training and Qualification 2013-05-22 at the Wayback Machine, Department of the Navy, dated 12 August 2009, last accessed 18 February 2013
^A Short History of the Distinguished Shooter Program 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine, by Hap Rocketto, dated 28 September 2010, last accessed 18 February 2013
^Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon 2017-02-28 at the Wayback Machine, Air Force Personnel Center, dated 5 August 2010, last accessed 27 February 2017
^U.S. Coast Guard Medals and Awards Manual COMDTINST M1650.25E, Department of Homeland Security, dated May 2008, last accessed 12 July 2015
^ abcTabs and Badges a Measure of Marksmanship 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, Missouri National Guard, dated 14 December 2010, last accessed 18 May 2014
^National Guard Devices, by Eric Bush, last accessed 18 May 2014
^ abU.S. Army Pamphlet 670–1: Uniform and Insignia, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia 2014-05-06 at the Wayback Machine, Department of the Army Publications and Forms, dated 31 March 2014, last accessed 23 June 2014
^U.S. Marine Corps Order P1020.34: Marine Corps Uniform Regulations, Chapter 5, Awards 2008-12-26 at the Wayback Machine, Permanent Marine Corps Uniform Board, dated 29 Oct 09, last accessed 4 Oct 11
December 15, 2023
marksmanship, ribbon, confused, with, marksmanship, medal, marksmanship, ribbon, united, states, navy, force, space, force, coast, guard, award, that, issued, members, pass, weapons, qualification, course, achieve, above, average, score, additionally, there, s. Not to be confused with Marksmanship Medal A marksmanship ribbon is a United States Navy Air Force Space Force and Coast Guard award that is issued to its members who pass a weapons qualification course and achieve an above average score Additionally there are select state National Guard organizations that award marksmanship ribbons for high placement in state level marksmanship competitions Marksmanship RibbonU S Marksmanship RibbonsTypeRibbonAwarded forMarksmanshipPresented byDepartment of the Navy Department of the Air Force and United States Coast GuardEligibilityAll ranksStatusCurrent Contents 1 U S Navy 2 U S Air Force and U S Space Force 3 U S Coast Guard 4 U S National Guard 5 Additional Information 6 See also 7 ReferencesU S Navy edit nbsp Small arms Qualification Course exam aboard USS America nbsp nbsp The U S Navy has issued these two marksmanship awards since 1920 the Navy Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon which is currently awarded for qualification on the Beretta M9 9mm pistol and the Navy Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon which is currently awarded for qualification on the M4 variant 1 The Navy issues the marksmanship ribbon in three levels of precedence Expert Sharpshooter and Marksman The basic ribbon is awarded for the Marksman level while the specific ribbon device is awarded for qualification as a Sharpshooter or Expert Those receiving an Expert qualification receive the Marksmanship Medal and Marksmanship Ribbon 1 The Navy also issued Distinguished Marksmanship Ribbons between 1942 and 1960 which were declared obsolete by 1965 2 U S Air Force and U S Space Force edit nbsp The U S Air Force and U S Space Force awards a single ribbon known as the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon for an expert qualification on either the M16 rifle M4 carbine or the M9 or M17 18 pistol The ribbon is issued in only one degree however a 3 16 inch bronze star may be worn on the ribbon for those who have qualified expert on both the service rifle and pistol 3 The ribbon was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force on Aug 28 1962 and was awarded to all Air Force and Space Force members who qualified after Jan 1 1963 Prior to the conception of a ribbon Air Force members were awarded with the United States Air Force Small Arms Marksmanship Certificate of Achievement AF Form 1193 Jan 1961 U S Coast Guard edit nbsp nbsp The U S Coast Guard Marksmanship Ribbons are issued under the same criteria as the U S Navy but Coast Guardsmen use a 40 cal SIG Sauer P229R DAK pistol instead of the Navy s M9 pistol The Coast Guard issues two ribbons known as the Coast Guard Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon and the Coast Guard Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon The ribbon device is awarded for qualification at the higher levels of sharpshooter and expert Like the Navy for those who receive an expert qualification the Marksmanship Medal is awarded instead of the Marksmanship Ribbon 4 U S National Guard edit nbsp Missouri National Guard Governor s Twelve RibbonOnce a year thousands of U S Army and Air National Guard shooters champion marksmanship teams from each state compete against each other at the Winston P Wilson Rifle and Pistol Championships In the Missouri National Guard the top twelve guardsmen selected to represent their state at the Winston P Wilson matches are awarded the Governor s Twelve Ribbon which is worn on dress uniforms any guardsman who earns the award more than once wear Hawthorn Cluster device s on top of the ribbon In addition these guardsman are awarded the Governor s Twelve Tab for wear on the combat uniform 5 6 nbsp Missouri National Guard Adjutant General s Twenty RibbonSimilarly the Adjutant General of Missouri awards the Adjutant General s Twenty Ribbon to soldiers and airmen who qualify among the top twenty competitors at the Missouri State Combat Matches conducted each year specifically the top eight combat rifle shooters the top eight pistol shooters the top two light machine gun teams and the top two scout sniper teams In addition to this ribbon these guardsman are also awarded the Adjutant General s Twenty Combat Badge for wear on the combat uniform 5 Guardsmen are authorized to wear these ribbons as a permanent decoration on service dress uniforms to the left of federal awards when operating under Title 32 state control status When federalized Title 10 guardsman cannot wear these ribbons until they return to Title 32 status 5 7 Additional Information editThe U S Army and U S Marine Corps provide weapons qualification badges instead of a marksmanship ribbon For the services that award the marksmanship ribbon re qualification is not necessary once a service member has obtained the award and the ribbon may be worn throughout an individual s career In the Navy and Coast Guard the marksmanship ribbon may be upgraded with a specific ribbon device if a higher qualification is achieved 7 8 See also editMarksmanship Device Marksmanship Medal Marksmanship Badge United States Awards and decorations of the United States militaryReferences edit a b OPNAVINST 3591 1F Small Arms Training and Qualification Archived 2013 05 22 at the Wayback Machine Department of the Navy dated 12 August 2009 last accessed 18 February 2013 A Short History of the Distinguished Shooter Program Archived 2012 09 15 at the Wayback Machine by Hap Rocketto dated 28 September 2010 last accessed 18 February 2013 Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon Archived 2017 02 28 at the Wayback Machine Air Force Personnel Center dated 5 August 2010 last accessed 27 February 2017 U S Coast Guard Medals and Awards Manual COMDTINST M1650 25E Department of Homeland Security dated May 2008 last accessed 12 July 2015 a b c Tabs and Badges a Measure of Marksmanship Archived 2014 05 18 at the Wayback Machine Missouri National Guard dated 14 December 2010 last accessed 18 May 2014 National Guard Devices by Eric Bush last accessed 18 May 2014 a b U S Army Pamphlet 670 1 Uniform and Insignia Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia Archived 2014 05 06 at the Wayback Machine Department of the Army Publications and Forms dated 31 March 2014 last accessed 23 June 2014 U S Marine Corps Order P1020 34 Marine Corps Uniform Regulations Chapter 5 Awards Archived 2008 12 26 at the Wayback Machine Permanent Marine Corps Uniform Board dated 29 Oct 09 last accessed 4 Oct 11 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marksmanship ribbon amp oldid 1161796876, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
