How to Identify Military Ribbons
Although military ribbons might seem like a random mix of colors and decorative items, each one carries a great deal of significance. In the military, ribbons serve as a sort of shorthand for medals. That is, each medal a service member earns comes with a ribbon that can be worn on a ribbon rack when the full-sized version of the medal is not authorized for wear. Although there are a wide variety of different ribbons, interpreting them is as simple as doing a little research and noting how they are displayed.
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Instructions
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Learn the basic rules of military ribbon display. Each service ranks awards by order of precedence depending on its prestige. The highest precedence ribbons are worn on the top of a ribbon rack, descending from the wearer's right to left. The only exception to this rule is the Congressional Medal of Honor ribbon, which can be identified as a blue ribbon with five stars that form an "M" shape. This ribbon will always be worn at the top of a ribbon rack above all other awards.
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Note each ribbon and its specific design. Each ribbon is 3/8 of an inch high and 1 3/8 inches wide and has its own unique design that corresponds to its full-sized award. If it is helpful and possible, take notes detailing the exact appearance of each ribbon.
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Take note of the location of each ribbon. Awards of great significance will be near the top of a ribbon rack and should be carefully noted.
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Use a reference guide (see Resources) to identify each ribbon. Although some ribbons are easy to identify, such as the Congressional Medal of Honor ribbon, each service has awards and ribbons with different designs. Memorizing all of them is tough, if not impossible, so the use of a reference guide is usually needed to determine some ribbons.
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Note any extra add-ons to each ribbon, such as numbers, letters or oak-leaf clusters. These signify an extension to each award. For example, oak-leaf clusters and, occasionally, numbers signify multiple issues of the same award. A "V" pinned on to a ribbon, meanwhile, means that the award was issued for valor while an "M" signifies that the award was issued to a member of the reserves who was mobilized.
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Tips & Warnings
Pay close attention to the number of oak-leaf clusters on a specific ribbon. Four bronze oak-leaf clusters, for example, means the award was issued to a service member five separate times. A silver oak-leaf cluster, meanwhile, takes the place of five bronze oak-leaf clusters.
References
Resources
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