Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation

In February of 1942 the first version of a Presidential Unit Citation was established for the Army, the Navy and the Marine Corps. It was called the Distinguished Unit Citation. Two decades later, the Navy and the Marine Corps changed their version of these Navy ribbons to the Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation. The Coast Guard may be presented either the Navy awards or the Coast Guard decorations depending on which service they were supporting at the time the recognized actions were performed that earned this military award. The Presidential Unit Citation is the unit equivalent of the individual military medals like the Army, Navy and Air Force Cross Medals, and may be awarded to US allies as well as US Armed Forces personnel for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. The Unit awarded must have shown gallantry, determination, and cohesiveness under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions so as to set its performance apart and above that of other units. In all branches of service, every member of the unit at the time the actions take place for which the award is issued may wear these military ribbons weather or not they participated in the actual event. The order of precedence for all military medals and ribbons dictates that the Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation be worn below the Navy and Marine Corps Combat Action Ribbon and above the Defense Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, Navy Unit Commendations, and Coast Guard Unit Commendations in racks of mounted military ribbons. Some branches of service offer special clasps to commemorate specific events for which the PUCs are awarded, like the Navy’s “N” for Nautilus, the Globe for Triton, or the Coasts Guards’ Hurricane device for Hurricane Katrina. The Navy and Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard each have their own unique unit streamer to represent receipt of Presidential Unit Citations. Presidential Unit Citations are generally available as Navy, Marine Corp, and Coast Guard military ribbons, lapel pins and unit streamers.