Ribbons and Ranks

Wearing Ribbon Awards The NJROTC ribbons are worn only on the Service Dress Blue and the Navy Service uniforms. When more than three ribbons are earned, wear them in horizontal rows of three each. If ribbons are not in multiple of threes, the top row contains the lesser number, and the center of this row sits over the center of the row below. Wear ribbons without spaces between ribbons or rows of ribbons. The NJROTC ribbons will be worn with the lower edge of the bottom row centered 1/4 inch above the left breast pocket of the shirt or coat. An adjustment may be necessary to make the ribbons parallel to the deck on the Service Dress Blue coat. To prevent the lapels on the SDB coat from covering ribbons, they may be aligned so the ribbon border to the wearer’s’ left is aligned with the left side of the pocket. Rows of ribbons where more than 50 percent of the ribbon is covered by the SDB coat lapel may contain two ribbons each and be aligned with the left border. NOTE: Ribbons are not authorized on the Working Khaki. 

Precedence or Order of Seniority NJROTC ribbons will be worn in the order of precedence as outlined on the next several pages. The most senior ribbon will be worn in the top row and inboard when more than one ribbon is worn on a row. All earned NJROTC ribbons must be worn at the same time; however, only one of each ribbon design may be worn with devices/subsequent awards attached to that one ribbon. Other awards and ribbons presented to you by organizations other than the NJROTC program (i.e., other service Junior ROTC programs, Retired Officers Association, American Veterans, Order of Daedalians, American Legion, marksmanship, etc.) will be worn after (subordinate to) the NJROTC ribbons in the order determined by your SNSI.

NJROTC Medals Medals are worn only on uniforms where other awards and decorations are authorized. They will be positioned 1/4 inch below the top of the pocket on the wearer’s left breast. Medals will be centered immediately below the bottom row of ribbons, arranged in seniority order inboard to outboard, in the following order: 

No more than three medals may be worn in each row side-by-side, or five medals in each row when overlapping, in addition to its corresponding ribbon, if any. When wearing multiple rows of medals, subsequent rows will be placed immediately below the previous row so that only the medallion of each medal is visible.

Honor Roll Awarded to any cadet who attains school honor roll status. The award is denoted by wearing a service star above the J-bar on the collar of any uniform. The star will be worn 1/4 inch above and centered on the “O” of the JROTC device. Two service stars may be worn to indicate the cadet is on the principal’s honor roll, should the school distinguish between honor roll and principal’s honor roll status. (Normally, it is awarded to a student who has achieved a 4.0 (unweighted) or straight “A” grade average for a marking period). The award is only worn during such time as the cadet is on the current honor roll. If a cadet is no longer listed when a new honor roll is published, the award shall be removed.

 NJROTC Ribbon Awards (ORDER OF PRECEDENCE) 1. Meritorious Achievement Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any NJROTC cadet who distinguishes himself only by outstanding meritorious achievement or performance of a meritorious act. Excludes such things as length of participation in the NJROTC unit or sustained superior performance in a leadership position. Awarded on a case-by-case basis by the Area Manager. 

 Distinguished Unit Awarded YEARLY to cadets in good standing who were unit members during the academic year in which the school earned the Distinguished Unit status. Awarded to only those units that demonstrated the very highest levels of performance. 

Distinguished Cadet Awarded YEARLY to one cadet in each year group with the highest combined average for overall scholastic standing and aptitude in NJROTC unit activities (includes academics, homework, physical fitness, community service, drill, etc.). 

 Honor Cadet Awarded YEARLY to one cadet in each year group with the highest overall academic achievement (GPA) in school, including the naval science courses.

Cadet Achievement Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet who distinguishes himself by outstanding achievement or sustained superior performance. The cadet must exhibit exceptional military aptitude and dedication to the program, as well as overall excellence in all facets of NJROTC. Awarded on a case-by-case basis by the Area Manager. 

Unit Achievement Awarded YEARLY to cadets in good standing who were unit members during the academic year in which the school earned the Unit Achievement status as determined by the Area Manager. Awarded only to those units that demonstrated exceptional performance but did not qualify for Distinguished Unit Status.

 Aptitude Award Awarded YEARLY to those outstanding cadets who demonstrate an exceptional military aptitude and dedication to the NJROTC program.

Naval Science 4 Outstanding Cadet(s) Awarded YEARLY to outstanding cadets in Naval Science 4 based on citizenship, academic performance, personal appearance, and conduct.

 Naval Science 3 Outstanding Cadet(s) Awarded YEARLY to outstanding cadets in Naval Science 3 based on citizenship, academic performance, personal appearance, and conduct.

 Naval Science 2 Outstanding Cadet(s) Awarded YEARLY to outstanding cadets in Naval Science 2 based on citizenship, academic performance, personal appearance, and conduct.

Naval Science 1 Outstanding Cadet(s) Awarded YEARLY to outstanding cadets in Naval Science 1 based on citizenship, academic performance, personal appearance, and conduct.

Exemplary Conduct Awarded YEARLY to each cadet who demonstrates exemplary conduct for the school year. 

 Exemplary Personal Appearance Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to each cadet who displays exemplary personal appearance and has worn his uniform on all occasions required. 

Physical Fitness Awarded, TWICE A YEAR, to any cadet who meets or exceeds the basic physical fitness exercise requirements as outlined in chapter 5 of this manual and the Cadet Reference Manual (CRM). 

 Participation Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet who has participated in three events other than routine unit activities. 

 Unit Service Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet who has demonstrated exemplary service and dedication to the unit as determined by the SNSI.

Community Service Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet in good standing who distinguishes himself by dedicated and outstanding service to the community. 

Academic Team Award Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet who is a member in good standing of the academic team and has participated in three or more academic competitions. 

 Drill Team Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to each member of a drill team in good standing who has entered competition or performed at three or more official functions. 

 Color Guard Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to each member of a color guard in good standing who has entered competition or performed at three or more official functions.

 Marksmanship Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet in good standing who has entered any competition. 

 Orienteering Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet in good standing who has entered any organized orienteering competition or who meets the orienteering qualification standards. 

 Inter-Service Competition *Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to any cadet in good standing who has entered any inter-service national level competition, such as CyberPatriot, JLAB, etc.; or for any SeaPerch Competition, regardless of service sponsorship. This ribbon cannot be awarded in addition to, or in lieu of, another team-specific ribbon. For example, it cannot be awarded for competing in a local, area, or postal multi-service drill, academic, marksmanship, or orienteering meet.

 Recruiting Awarded, WHEN EARNED, to a cadet who is instrumental in the enrollment of two students in the NJROTC program. Subsequent awards are given for each additional two students enrolled. 

 Leadership Training Awarded to any cadet upon satisfactory completion of Basic Leadership Training, Leadership Academy, or similar training as approved by the Area Manager. 

 Sea Cruise Awarded to any cadet upon completion of an at-sea cruise (vessel must cast off lines and be underway). NOTE: The awarding of ribbons for those schools on a 4x4 block schedule that complete a naval science course in just one semester, the words “yearly” or “twice a year” can be interpreted to mean once or twice during the one-semester course.

F. Ribbon Devices The following devices will be worn on the ribbons you have been awarded. Some of them are devices that go with the ribbon. Others are awarded in place of another ribbon award. (They represent subsequent awards for the same reason as the first award.) DEVICE RIBBON WITH WHICH DEVICE IS WORN 

1. Lamp To be worn on the Honor Cadet ribbon by each cadet who has also achieved an “A” in naval science as follows: Bronze Lamp - NS-1 Silver Lamp - NS-2 Gold Lamp - NS-3 and NS-4 The lamp device is also used to denote the level of achievement in the semi-annual Cadet Challenge for the Physical Fitness Ribbon. See chapter 5 for details. 

2. Anchor The gold anchor is worn on the following ribbons—Drill Team, Color Guard, Academic Team, Marksmanship, Physical Fitness, and Orienteering—by the cadet who is the present leader or team commander of the group. This ribbon with anchor is worn on right side of the team commander’s chest. In addition, the cadet who is selected as the commanding officer of the NJROTC unit will attach a gold anchor to the Unit Service ribbon and wear the ribbon on the right side of his uniform. Ribbon, anchor, and any other awards earned previously are to be worn on the left side of the chest in regular order of precedence by the cadet who was a previous unit commanding officer, team leader, or commander of a group.

 NOTE 1: No other devices will accompany the gold anchor when the award is worn on the right side. 

NOTE 2: When becoming captain of more than one team, the ribbon with the highest order of precedence is worn inboard, to the wearer’s left, as shown in the example. 

NOTE 3: When wearing the ribbon of a team captain on the right side of the uniform, a similar ribbon without the team captain gold anchor cannot be worn in its normal position on the left side of the uniform.

 NOTE 4: For the company commander, and the color guard and athletic team commanders, when the ribbon is worn on the right side of the uniform, it is not inverted (i.e., the dark color is still worn to the wearer’s right side).

NOTE: See article 1-8e for the beginning of ribbon order of precedence and page FM-35 for a chart of all 26 NJROTC ribbons. NOTE: Four NJROTC ribbons can be worn incorrectly (upside down) with the colors reversed in order from the wearer’s right to left. These are: Distinguished Cadet, Physical Fitness, Unit Service, and Color Guard. In all four cases, the ribbon should be mounted on the ribbon bar with the blue end of the ribbon to the wearer’s right. NOTE: When the Physical Fitness, Unit Service, or Color Guard ribbon is moved to the wearer’s right side, as in the case of a commanding officer or team captain, the ribbon is not turned upside down to have the dark color inboard. The ribbon is worn as shown with the blue portion to the wearer’s right.

*H. Wear of Active Duty Ribbons and Badges. 1. On the rare occasion that a cadet earns an active duty award for service such as pre-graduation completion of boot camp, that award’s ribbon may be worn on the uniform “above” (higher in priority than) NJROTC ribbons. However, the wear of the associated medal or its miniature equivalent is NOT authorized, since active duty regulations call for the wearing of medals only with full dress (Mess Dress for miniature medals). 2. As stated in item c of 1-1, THE UNIFORM in this manual, the wear of unearned active duty insignia and awards by a cadet is strictly prohibited. This prohibition includes but is not limited to commissioned officer rank insignia, combination cover bill (“scrambled eggs”), and/or sleeve braid, commissioning knots on swords, and all warfare or other qualification badges and breast insignia, especially command pins, command master chief or career counselor badges, and other active duty badges which have specific requirements for qualification. To wear these badges and breast insignia as a cadet would be disrespectful to the efforts, experience, and training that an active duty member or veteran had to undergo to achieve that qualification