Obsolete military awards of the United States

Obsolete military awards of the United States are United States military awards which have been officially removed from U.S. military award precedence charts and are listed as "Obsolete Military Decorations" in military award publications and instructions.

Typically, the U.S. military will declare a decoration obsolete twenty to thirty years after its last issuance to an active duty member of the military or, in the case of medals designed for members of the reserve forces, a drilling reservist attending annual training. Medals for valor (such as the Medal of Honor and Silver Star) are rarely declared obsolete regardless of the amount of time which has passed since the last issuance. This is since such medals could be reinstated, on very short notice, in the event of an armed conflict in which the United States armed forces would be called to service.

Although United States service medals of the World Wars have also been declared obsolete by the U.S. military, many may still be found in various charts, publications, and instructions. This is since a large number of veterans still display such medals as retirement awards or through functions and ceremonies with various veteran groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion.

The following decorations have been declared obsolete with most such decorations indicating service in military operations prior to 1935.

Inter-service

The National Match Team ("Dogs of War") Medal

Medal for Humane Action	Korean Service Medal
100px

Army service

Certificate of Merit Medal
200px

Civil War Campaign Medal	Indian Campaign Medal	Spanish Campaign Medal	Spanish War Service Medal
100px	100px	150px	95px

Army of Cuban Occupation Medal	Army of Cuban Pacification Medal	Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal
	95px	95px

Philippine Campaign Medal	Philippine Congressional Medal	China Campaign Medal	Mexican Service Medal	Mexican Border Service Medal
95px		95px	95px

Army Wound Ribbon

Army Marksmanship Prize Medals	Army Team Marksmanship Medals (1st version)	Army Distinguished Aerial Gunner/Bomber Medals	Army Team Marksmanship Medals (2nd version)	Army Distinguished Automatic Rifleman Medal
			250px

Navy and Marine Corps service

Marine Corps Brevet Medal	Specially Meritorious Service Medal
100px	95px

Civil War Campaign Medal	Spanish Campaign Medal	Philippine Campaign Medal	Mexican Service Medal	West Indies Campaign Medal
110px		120px	115px

China Relief Expedition Medal	China Service Medal	Yangtze Service Medal	Dominican Campaign Medal	Cuban Pacification Medal
100px	110px	120px	100px

Nicaraguan Campaign Medal	Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal	Haitian Campaign Medal (1917)	Haitian Campaign Medal (1921)	Naval Reserve Medal
	115px			105px

Navy Fleet Marine Force Ribbon	Marine Corps Reserve Ribbon	Reserve Special Commendation Ribbon

Distinguished Marksman and Pistol Shot Ribbon	Distinguished Marksman Ribbon	Distinguished Pistol Shot Ribbon	Marine Corps Marksmanship Competition Medals (1st version)	Navy Expert Team Rifleman Medal

Coast Guard service

Transportation Distinguished Service Medal
225px

Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award	Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation

Air Force service

Air Force Recruiter Ribbon	Air Force Military Training Instructor Ribbon

Air Force Gold & Silver Elementary Excellence-In-Competition Medals	Air Force Gold National Excellence-In-Competition Medals

See Also

• Awards and decorations of the United States military
• Obsolete badges of the United States military