Very few awards in the sea services say as much about a Sailor as the Good Conduct Medal that Navy leaders have handed out since 1869. It does not mark one brave afternoon. It marks three straight years of showing up, doing the work, and keeping a clean record. Shipmates notice that. So do the […]
The Navy ribbon order of precedence decides where every ribbon sits on your uniform, from the Medal of Honor down to your newest training ribbon. Sailors face this system at every uniform inspection, advancement board, and ceremony, and the rules differ from the Army’s in a few ways that trip people up. This guide explains […]
Two ships. Ten guns apiece. Eighty men each, signed on for three months. That was the entire United States Navy on the day it began, and nobody involved would have called it a navy. Congress had authorized a pair of armed merchantmen to go bother British supply ships off the New England coast. It was […]
