Army Good Conduct Medal
The Army was the next to last branch of United States military service to add a Good Conduct Medal to the long list of medals of America. The President issued an Executive Order establishing the Army Good Conduct Medal on June 28, 1941. These Army ribbons and medals were authorized for award to soldiers completing three years active service after that date. Another Executive Order on March 31, 1943 amended the criteria to authorize these Army medals and ribbons for one year of service during active war duty after December 7, 1941. These US military medals are awarded on a selective basis to each soldier who distinguishes himself/herself from among his/her fellow soldiers by their exemplary conduct, efficiency, and fidelity throughout a specified period of continuous enlisted active duty service. The first presentation of these military medals can be made posthumously for those individuals who died before completing one year of active duty military service if the death occurred in the line of duty. The immediate commander must approve the award and the decoration must be announced in permanent orders. On September 1, 1982, Active Guard and Reserve personnel became eligible to receive the Army Good Conduct Medal as well.
The Army Good Conduct Medal is worn just below the Prisoner of War Medal and just above the Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal in the general order of precedence that has been established for the proper display of all Army military ribbons and medals. Subsequent awards are denoted with Award Clasp devices with loops worn on the military ribbons. Bronze clasps with 2 through 5 loops indicate 2 through 5 subsequent awards. Silver clasps with one through five loops indicate 6 through ten awards. Gold clasps with one through 5 loops indicate eleven through fifteen awards.
The Army Good Conduct Medal is commonly available as Army medals, ribbons, and lapel pins among many other forms. These Army awards can be worn as traditional slide-on military medals or mini-medals and traditional slide-on military ribbons. Nowadays however, more and more military service personnel are realizing the value to their career goals of always having their uniform decorations looking their best, and have turned to the slimmer and trimmer thin military medals and mini medals and the ultra thin military ribbons to provide them with the smartest looking military award displays possible.
