Combat Action Ribbon

Authorized on February 17, 1969, this ribbon is awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard for combat action service. The principal requirement is that the personnel must have been in a ground or surface combat fire-fight, or action during which they were under enemy fire, and that their performance under fire must have been satisfactory.

The descriptive text for this award was excerpted from "American Medals and Decorations" by Evans Kerrigan. (Quintet Publishing Limited, Mallard Press, New York, N.Y., 1990, ISBN 0-792-45082-5) with special thanks to the Naval Helicopter Association for publishing this information on the web.