Army Service Ribbon

History

Effective 1 August 1981, the Army Service Ribbon is awarded to all members of the regular (active) Army, and Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve in an active reserve status, for successful completion of initial-entry training, which for officers is considered to be successful completion of their basic/orientation or higher-level course. Enlisted Soldiers are awarded the ribbon upon successful completion of their initial military occupational specialty (MOS)–producing course. If a Soldier is assigned an MOS based on skills acquired as a civilian or member of a sister-service (e.g., USAF), the ribbon is awarded after completion of 4 months of honorable active service.

The ribbon may be awarded retroactively to those personnel who completed the required training before 1 August 1981, provided they had an Active Army status as defined above on or after 1 August 1981.

For those service-members who completed initial entry training prior to 1981, the Army Service Ribbon is retroactively awarded, provided the service-member was still on active duty after 1981. For those service-members who are appointed or enlist in the Army after serving with a sister-service (and who may not be required to complete Army initial entry training) the Army Service Ribbon is awarded after four months of active service.

The Army Service Ribbon is presented as a one-time award only, i.e., no subsequent awards are authorized. The United States Air Force equivalent of the Army Service Ribbon is the Air Force Training Ribbon. Neither the U.S. Navy nor the U.S. Marine Corps has a direct equivalent, though the Navy awards the Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon to the top 3% of each Navy recruit graduating class.

The Army Service Ribbon is a multi-colored (red, orange, yellow, green, and blue) ribbon to represent the entire spectrum of military specialties in which officers and enlisted Soldiers may enter upon completion of their initial training.

References

References

1. "Archived copy".
2. (October 10, 1990). "General Orders #15". Department of the Army.
3. Page 63, Chapter 5, Section II, Par 5-5 of Army Regulation 600–8–22 dtd 11 December 2006
4. "Army Service Ribbon.".
5. "Army Service Ribbon".