An
award star is a decoration issued to personnel of the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
,
Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, and
Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
in lieu of multiple awards of the same award. An award star is very similar to an
oak leaf clusterAn oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
, which serves the same purpose in the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and
United States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Award stars are sometimes referred to as Gold Stars and Silver Stars (not to be confused with the
Silver Star MedalThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
).
Award stars are issued in two degrees, gold and silver, with silver considered the higher degree as is the tradition in the U.S. military. An award star is issued in lieu of multiple awards of the same decoration with the first award star issued for the second award of the decoration. For instance, if a service member received three
Achievement MedalThe Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States military. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize the contributions of junior officers and enlisted personnel who were not eligible to receive the higher Commendation Medal or the Meritorious Service...
s, their service record would reflect the Achievement Medal with two gold award stars.
Silver award stars are issued in lieu of five gold, meaning that a silver star is provided for the 6th, 11th, 16th and so on, for subsequent awards of a decoration. There are no higher degrees of award stars authorized in lieu of five silver award stars.
It is a common misunderstanding to mistake the silver award star for the
Silver StarThe Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
medal, which is an entirely different decoration.
Award stars are only issued for individual medals which are awarded for combat or meritorious actions. They are not issued for
service medalA service medal is a military award generally of the lowest degree. A service medal is awarded to a member of the military who joins the military, or is already serving, during a designated time period...
s, which receive
service starA service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...
s.