Everipedia Logo
Everipedia is now IQ.wiki - Join the IQ Brainlist and our Discord for early access to editing on the new platform and to participate in the beta testing.
"V" Device

"V" Device

A "V" device is a metal 1⁄4-inch (6.4 mm) capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes an award for heroism or valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement.[5]

The decorations with which a "V" may be authorized differ among the military services, as well as the manner in which the "V" is worn and the name by which it is referred to. Until 2017, each service also used different criteria in determining whether a "V" could be authorized.[1][6]

"V" device
Awarded by United States
TypeRibbon device
Awarded forHeroism in combat[1]
StatusIn use
Statistics
Established22 December 1945 (22 December 1945)
Precedence
Next (lower)"C" device[2][3][4]
imgimgimgimgimgimg

Etymology

The Department of Defense, Army, and Air Force refer to the "V" as the "V" Device.[7][8] The Coast Guard refers to it as the Valor Device,[9] while the Navy and Marine Corps refer to it as the Combat Distinguishing Device or Combat "V".[10] When referring to a medal that has been awarded with the "V" device, it is often referred to as having been awarded "with valor".

History

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps ribbon of the Achievement Medal with "V" device denoting combat bravery; the "V" device ceased being awarded with Achievement Medals in late 2016.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps ribbon of the Achievement Medal with "V" device denoting combat bravery; the "V" device ceased being awarded with Achievement Medals in late 2016.

On 22 December 1945, in War Department Circular 383, the United States Army decided to introduce the "V" device to distinguish the award of a Bronze Star Medal for acts of valor and heroism rather than meritorious service.[11] Soldiers, including Army airmen, who were awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism in combat were now authorized to wear a bronze "V" on the suspension and service ribbon of the medal. Only one "V" was allowed to be worn on a ribbon. The Department of the Navy introduced the "V" as the "Combat Distinguishing Device", and on 15 February 1946, authorized the "V" device to be worn on the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal for services or acts performed in actual combat with the enemy; in February 1947, this was changed to acts or services involving direct participation in combat operations. Most World War II veterans who were entitled to the "V" probably did not know about or apply for the device, since large scale separations from the services were taking place after the war ended. Stocks of the device also were not available for issue for at least a year since the Army circular.[11]

To be worn on a decoration, the "V" device must have been specifically authorized in the written award citation issued with the medal. In 1996, the "V" device garnered public attention after the suicide of Admiral Jeremy Boorda, who was the Chief of Naval Operations. The news media reported that his death by suicide may have been caused by a Navy investigation following a story by Newsweek about Boorda wearing two "combat valor pins" on the service ribbons of his uniform, which he received for duty as a weapons officer and executive officer aboard two naval ships off the coast of Indochina during the Vietnam War.[12] Although there were indications these "combat distinguishing devices" were authorized to be worn on his Navy Commendation Medal and Navy Achievement Medal, the Department of the Navy Board For Correction of Naval Records determined after his death that both of the devices were not authorized to be worn on the two decorations.[13]

In 2011, the Department of Defense changed its awards manual regulations concerning the Medal of Honor, specifying that the "V" device instead of the oak leaf cluster and ​5⁄16 inch star would be used to denote additional citations in the rare event of a service member being awarded a second MoH. By May 2015, the Department of Defense changed its awards manual again concerning the Medal of Honor, specifying that a separate MOH is presented to an individual for each succeeding act that justifies an award. There has not been a living repeat Medal of Honor recipient since the World War I era, so the "V" device was never actually worn in this fashion.

Until 2017, the criteria and conditions under which the "V" device could be awarded differed among the services. For the Army, the "V" was worn solely to denote "participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy".[7] For the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, the "V" could be worn to denote combat heroism, or to recognize individuals who were "exposed to personal hazard during direct participation in combat operations".[14][10] For the Air Force, the "V" could be worn on the Bronze Star Medal to denote heroism in combat, but also on the Commendation Medal and Achievement Medal to denote heroism or for being "placed in harm's way" during contingency deployment operations.

Prior to 1 January 2014, the device was also authorized on Outstanding Unit Awards and Organizational Excellence Awards to indicate the unit participated in direct combat support actions.[8] The "V" device is also authorized for the Air Medal by all the services where heroism in aerial combat was involved on an individual mission. On 15 August 2016, the Coast Guard changed their criteria such that new awards of the "V" would be for valor only, to denote a heroic act or acts while participating in conflict or combat with an armed enemy.[9] On 6 January 2016, the Department of Defense announced that it was revising its military decorations and awards program to include a "V" device change to its original 1940s use of denoting heroism in combat only on specific decorations for the military services.[3][15] Two new "C" and "R" devices will also be used on relevant awards.[3][15]

Device changes

On 2 February 2017, new silver plated and gold plated "V" devices were introduced, followed by wreathed versions in September[5] which led to speculation that the various versions of the "V" device would now indicate how many times a specific medal was awarded with the "V."[15] The U.S. Air Force uniform regulations update of 15 April 2019, was the first to describe and depict the new "V" devices as follows:[16]

On 21 December 2016, the "V" device ceased being authorized for Achievement Medals.[17][18] Retroactive to January 2016, the "V" device ceased being authorized for the Legion of Merit, being replaced by the "C" device.[19]

Decorations eligible for the "V" device

Currently, the following decorations of the United States Armed Forces are eligible to be awarded with a "V" device.[17][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

DecorationArmy[17][7]Navy and
Marine Corps[17][10]
Air
Force[17][8]
Coast
Guard[9]
DoD
Joint Service[29][18]
Distinguished Flying CrossYesYesYesYes
Bronze Star MedalYesYesYesYes
Air MedalYesYesYesYes
Commendation MedalsYesYesYesYesYes

Army and Air Force

For the Army and the Air Force, the "V" is positioned to the right of any bronze or silver oak leaf clusters from the wearer's perspective, or positioned in the center of the service ribbon if worn alone.[30][16]

V
Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for valor
V
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star Medal, two awards, of which at least one was for valor
V
Award numeral 3.svg
Air Medal (Army), three awards, of which at least one was for valor (Army uses bronze award numerals)
V
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Medal (Air Force), three awards, of which at least one was for valor (Air Force uses oak leaf clusters)
V
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Air Force Commendation Medal, four awards, of which at least one was for valor

Only 4 devices may be worn per ribbon; an additional ribbon is worn to the wearer's left when necessary to support additional devices:[30][16]

V
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal, nine awards, of which at least one was for valor
V
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Commendation Medal, ten awards, of which at least one was for valor

For the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, the "V" is always worn in the center of the service ribbon, while any gold or silver ​5⁄16 Inch Stars are added in balance to the right and left of the "V" starting with the right side from the wearer's perspective.[31][32][33] The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard continue to award and issue the bronze version. The Marine Corps allows anodized medals and anodized Combat "V"s to be worn on the dress blues uniform.

"V" device, brass.svgDistinguished Flying Cross, awarded for valor
Bronze Star Medal ribbon with "V" device, 1st award.svg1 golden star.svgBronze Star Medal, two awards, of which at least one was for valor
"V" device, brass.svgAward Numeral 3 golden.pngAir Medal, three awards, of which at least one was for valor (The gold award numeral 3 on the left denotes three individual awards of the Air Medal (only for Navy and Marine Corps))
"V" device, brass.svg1 golden star.svg1 golden star.svgAir Medal, three awards, of which at least one was for valor (Coast Guard uses award stars)
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal ribbon with "V" device, 1st award.svg1 golden star.svgAward-star-silver-3d.png1 golden star.svgNavy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, eight awards, of which at least one was for valor
U.S. Coast Guard Commendation Medal ribbon.svg"V" device, brass.svg1 golden star.svg1 golden star.svg1 golden star.svg1 golden star.svgCoast Guard Commendation Medal, five awards, of which at least one was for valor

Combined with Arabic numerals

Golden or brass Arabic numerals may be used to indicate the total number of times the medal was awarded if the total number of devices, of any types, exceed 4 total devices and would thus not fit on a single ribbon.[34]

"V" device, brass.svgBronze oakleaf-3d.svgBronze oakleaf-3d.svgBronze oakleaf-3d.svgTotal of four awards, of which at least one was for valor
"V" device, brass.svgAward numeral 5 golden.pngTotal of five awards, of which at least one was for valor
"V" device, brass.svgAward numeral 9.pngTotal of nine awards, of which at least one was for valor

Notable recipients

  • Eddie Albert

  • Monica Beltran

  • William B. Caldwell III

  • Duane Carey

  • Calvin Graham

  • Llewellyn Chilson

  • Ray Davis

  • Desmond Doss

  • Michael Fahey

  • Tommy Franks

  • William J. Gainey

  • Joseph L. Galloway

  • Bill Genaust

  • William Guarnere

  • David H. Hackworth

  • Michael Hagee

  • Alexander Haig

  • Ira Hayes

  • Joseph P. Hoar

  • Charles T. Horner Jr.

  • Robert L. Howard

  • Richard Jadick

  • Woodrow Keeble

  • John Kerry

  • Harry Kizirian

  • Charles C. Krulak

  • Chris Kyle

  • Douglas MacArthur

  • Richard Marcinko

  • John McCain

  • Michael A. Monsoor

  • Dan Crenshaw

  • Robert Mueller

  • Audie Murphy

  • Raymond L. Murray

  • John P. Murtha

  • Peter Pace

  • David Petraeus

  • Chance Phelps

  • Chesty Puller

  • Charles B. Rangel

  • L. Scott Rice

  • Matthew Ridgway

  • John Ripley

  • Norman Schwarzkopf

  • Sidney Shachnow

  • Hugh Shelton

  • Jamie Smith

  • Robert L. Stewart

  • Jeff Struecker

  • Oliver Stone

  • Strom Thurmond

  • Matt Urban

  • Alejandro Villanueva

  • Allen West

  • Chuck Yeager

  • Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr.

See also

  • Awards and decorations of the United States military

  • United States military award devices

References

[1]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgFrom 1945 until 2 February 2017, criteria varied among the services for the award of a medal with the "V" device. While the Army awarded the "V" solely to denote "participation in acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy," the Navy and Marine Corps also awarded the "V" to recognize individuals who are "exposed to personal hazard during direct participation in combat operations", and the Air Force included provisions for awarding the "V" to members who were "placed in harm's way" during contingency deployment operations.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[2]
Citation Linkwww.defense.gov"DoD Military Decorations and Awards Review Results (1-36)" (PDF). Retrieved 10 January 2016.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[3]
Citation Linkwww.defense.govFerdinando, Lisa (7 January 2016). "Pentagon Announces Changes to Military Decorations and Awards Program". DoD News. U.S. Department of Defense.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[4]
Citation Linkwww.dtic.mil"DOD MANUAL 1348.33, VOLUME 4 MANUAL OF MILITARY DECORATIONS AND AWARDS: DOD JOINT DECORATIONS AND AWARDS" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. 21 December 2016. p. 39. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[5]
Citation Linkquicksearch.dla.mil"Ribbon Attachment, Letter 'V'". MIL-DTL-41819/3J. Defense Logistics Agency. Defense Logistics Agency. 2 February 2017.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[6]
Citation Linkwww.stripes.comBurgess, Lisa (26 October 2006). "Pentagon reviewing 'V' device for consistency". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[7]
Citation Linkwww.apd.army.mil"Army Regulation 600–8–22 Military Awards" (PDF). United States Army. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[8]
Citation Linkstatic.e-publishing.af.mil"AFI 36-2803 Air Force Military Awards and Decorations Program" (PDF). 18 December 2013. p. 218. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[9]
Citation Linkmedia.defense.gov"COMDTINST M1650.25E Medals and Awards Manual" (PDF). 15 August 2016. pp. 1–23. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[10]
Citation Linkawards.navy.mil"SECNAVINST 1650.1H" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[11]
Citation Linkwww.omsa.org"The "V" Device" (PDF).
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[12]
Citation Linkwww.newsweek.comNewsweek, "Beneath the Waves", 5/26/96
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[13]
Citation Linkboards.law.af.mil"Board for Correction of Naval Records" (PDF).
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[14]
Citation Linkwww.dtic.mil"Department of Defense Manual 1348.33, Volume 3" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. 23 November 2010. p. 53. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[15]
Citation Linkblog.medalsofamerica.comDizzle, Kirk (16 March 2016). "New V, C and R devices". DD214 Blog. Medals of America. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[16]
Citation Linkstatic.e-publishing.af.milAFI36-2903: Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force Personnel, dated 23 April 2019, last accessed 21 May 2019
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[17]
Citation Linkwww.stripes.comDickstein, Corey (31 March 2017). "Pentagon implements 'C' and 'R' awards devices, removes 'V' from 2 awards". Stars and Stripes. Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[18]
Citation Linkwww.dtic.milLevine, Peter (21 December 2016). "Section 3: Award Requirements and Restrictions" (PDF). DoD Instruction 1348.33: DoD Military Decorations and Awards Program. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017. Includes Army Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Air Force Achievement Medal.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[19]
Citation Linkwww.stripes.comdeGrandpre, Andrew; Panzino, Charlsy (30 March 2017). "12 military awards now eligible for new 'C' and 'R' devices, and 2 no longer rate a 'V'". Military Times. Virginia. Retrieved 17 March 2018.Dickstein, Corey (31 March 2017). "Pentagon implements 'C' and 'R' awards devices, removes 'V' from 2 awards". Stars and Stripes. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM
[20]
Citation Linkwww.army.mil"New combat-related devices authorized for decorations". Retrieved 1 January 2018.
Sep 22, 2019, 7:03 PM