Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal Anodized

Service: Coast Guard

Instituted: 1923

Criteria: Outstanding pro­ficiency, leadership and conduct during three years of enlisted service

Devices: Bronze, Silver Star

Notes: Originally suspended from a 1½" wide ribbon and a square lower suspender bar

The Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal was authorized 12 December 1923 to recognize superior duty performance by enlisted Coast Guardsmen for a four year service period. In 1934 the time changed to conform to the Navy and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals three year period of service. Originally, the Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal was attached to a 1 1/2 inch wide ribbon suspended from a rectangular top bar inscribed: U.S. Coast Guard. The metal pendant was 1 7/16 inches in diameter with the likeness of a cutter in the center surrounded by the Coast Guard’s motto SEMPER PARATUS (Always Prepared). Subsequent awards were indicated by the addition of bronze Good Conduct Bars attached to the suspension ribbon with the recipient’s ship or duty station engraved on the front and the award date on the reverse. Both the suspension top bar and the Good Conduct Bars were discontinued after the Korean War. The 2d Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal had a 1 3/8th inch wide ribbon and the planchet reduced to 1 1/4 inches. The new planchet replaced the ship in the center with the U.S. Coast Guard seal. The reverses of both versions were similar with a blank center disk surrounded by an outer ring inscribed with the words: FIDELITY ZEAL OBEDIENCE. In 1999 the USCG’s Uniform Board changed the reverse side wording to say, HONOR and RESPECT at the top and DEVOTION TO DUTY on the bottom. The new obverse is identical to the second style except that it is one and a half inches in diameter. The ribbon is maroon with a central stripe of white. Additional awards are denoted by bronze and silver stars.