To build a Navy ribbon rack, pull your verified awards from NDAWS, arrange the ribbons in order of precedence with the senior award at the top right of the rack, add your authorized devices, and mount everything in rows of three above the left breast pocket. U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations (NAVPERS 15665, Chapter 5) set the rules, and our online rack builder handles the ordering for you in minutes. This guide walks through each step the right way, plus the Navy-specific rules that trip up even experienced Sailors.
What Is a Navy Ribbon Rack?
A ribbon rack is the group of ribbon bars worn on your dress uniform that represents every decoration, medal, and ribbon you have earned. Each ribbon stands for a full award, from the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal to campaign medals and training ribbons. The Navy arranges them by order of precedence, the official ranking that puts your most senior award at the top and your most junior at the bottom.
Three official publications control the system. SECNAVINST 1650.1J (29 May 2019) sets Department of the Navy awards policy. SECNAV M-1650.1, the Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual (August 2019), gives the criteria for each award. NAVPERS 15665, Chapter 5, tells you exactly how to wear everything on each uniform. Your rack gets read at every inspection, advancement board, and ceremony, so a correct rack signals the same attention to detail the Navy expects everywhere else.
If you want the full ranking explained, start with our step-by-step guide to the Navy ribbon order of precedence. This post focuses on the build itself.
How Do You Build a Navy Ribbon Rack Step by Step?
Anyone searching for how to build a Navy ribbon rack can follow the same five steps, whether you serve on active duty, drill in the Reserve, or left the Navy years ago.
Step 1: Pull your official awards record
Log into BUPERS Online and open NDAWS, the Navy Department Awards Web Service, to see your verified awards. Veterans should use the DD-214, block 13. If an award you earned does not appear, correct the record through your admin office first, because your rack must match your official file.
Step 2: List every award you rate
Write out the complete list: personal decorations, unit awards, the Good Conduct Medal, campaign and service medals, training ribbons, and marksmanship awards. Sailors most often forget the junior ribbons, and a rack that skips an award reads as wrong as a rack that misorders one.
Step 3: Arrange the ribbons in order of precedence
Place the senior award at the top of the rack, on the wearer’s right. The categories run in a fixed sequence: personal decorations first, then unit awards, the Good Conduct Medal, campaign and service medals, training ribbons, foreign awards, and marksmanship awards at the very end. Inside each category, NAVPERS 15665 sets the exact order. Our Navy ribbons page lists every ribbon in the current sequence if you want to check your list line by line.
Step 4: Add your devices
Devices come from your award orders. The common Navy devices:
- A 5/16 inch gold star marks each additional award of the same decoration.
- Bronze service stars mark campaign participation on campaign medals.
- The Combat “V” goes on only when your orders authorize valor.
- Strike/Flight numerals count qualifying awards on the Air Medal.
- The “E”, “S”, or expert devices apply to specific ribbons per the regulation.
Center a single device on the ribbon and space multiple devices evenly across it.
Step 5: Mount the rack
Mount ribbons in horizontal rows of three, centered above the left chest pocket, with an incomplete top row of one or two ribbons centered over the row below. You can slide individual ribbons onto bar racks by hand, but hand-built racks bring uneven spacing, frayed edges, and forward tilt once the rack passes three rows. A professionally mounted ultra-thin rack solves all three problems by mounting every ribbon flat on a single rigid backing at about half the thickness of a standard rack.
Navy-Specific Rules and Buying Tips
A few rules apply to the Navy in ways that surprise people who learned the system in another branch:
The senior-three option. On certain uniforms, Navy Uniform Regulations let you wear either your full rack or only your three most senior ribbons. Many Sailors keep two racks for exactly this reason: a full rack for inspections and ceremonies, and a compact senior-three rack for daily wear. Both need correct precedence.
Marksmanship goes last. Rifle and pistol marksmanship ribbons sit at the very end of the rack, after every U.S. and foreign award. Placing them anywhere else is one of the most common rack errors in the fleet.
Gold stars, not oak leaf clusters. The Navy marks repeat awards with gold stars.
Buying tip: order the rack-mounted, not the parts. Individual ribbons, bars, and devices cost less up front, but you pay for it in crooked devices and a rack you rebuild every time something snags. When you order through our rack builder, you pick your awards and devices, the tool sequences everything in the current Navy order of precedence automatically, and the finished rack arrives as one flat ultra-thin unit, checked against the regulation and ready to pin on. Every ribbon we mount uses regulation colors and dimensions, so the rack holds up at inspection, not just in photos.
Buying tip: rebuild after every new award. A new decoration can shift every ribbon below it. Keep your NDAWS record current and reorder the rack when your awards change, not the night before a board.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What order do Navy ribbons go in?
A: Navy ribbons follow the order of precedence in NAVPERS 15665, Chapter 5, with personal decorations first and marksmanship awards last.
Q: How many ribbons do Sailors wear per row?
A: Sailors wear ribbons in rows of three, centered above the left breast pocket, with an incomplete top row centered over the row below.
Q: Can I wear just three ribbons instead of my full rack?
A: Yes, on certain uniforms the Navy allows either the full rack or only the three most senior ribbons.
Q: What does a gold star on a Navy ribbon mean?
A: A 5/16 inch gold star marks an additional award of the same decoration, the Navy’s equivalent of the Army’s oak leaf cluster.
Q: Where do I find my official Navy awards list?
A: Check NDAWS through BUPERS Online, or block 13 of your DD-214 if you have separated.
A Final Word From Super Thin Ribbons
At Super Thin Ribbons, we respect the service behind every ribbon we mount. Each bar on your rack stands for a deployment, a qualification, or years of faithful service, and we treat every order that way. Your awards tell your story, and our job is to make sure that story sits straight, flat, and regulation-correct on your uniform.
Ready to skip the charts and the tiny device prongs? Build your Navy ribbon rack in minutes with our rack builder, and it arrives mounted ultra thin, in regulation order, ready to wear.