10-27 An award is any decoration, medal, badge, ribbon, or letter of commendation given to an individual or unit in recognition of outstanding acts or service performed. There are seven broad categories of awards: 1.  Military decorations 2.  Unit awards 3.  Nonmilitary decorations 4.  Campaign and service awards 5.  Foreign  decorations  and  non-U.S.  service awards 6.  Marksmanship awards 7.  Awards  of  military  societies  and  other organizations Military decorations. A military decoration is an award given to an individual for a specific personal act  of  gallantry  or  meritorious  service.  Some examples of military decorations are the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, and Purple Heart. The first military decoration awarded to individuals by this country was the Purple Heart. The Purple Heart was founded by George Washington in 1782. It was awarded  for  unusual  gallantry  and/or  extraordinary fidelity and essential service. Only three people were awarded the original Purple Heart. The awards were made for action during the Revolutionary War. One hundred and fifty years later, in 1932, the President Franklin Deleno Roosevelt revived the Purple Heart decoration. The basis for this award was changed from the original idea. As reestablished, the Purple Heart is now awarded  for  wounds  received  as  a  result  of  enemy action. Unit awards. An award presented to an operating unit worn only by members of the unit who participated in the cited action. Unit awards include the Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy Unit Commendation, and the Navy “E.” N o n m i l i t a r y d e c o r a t i o n s . N o n m i l i t a r y decorations  are  awarded  for  various  actions  by  an individual. A few examples are the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Gold and Silver Life Saving Medals, and the National Sciences Medal. Campaign and service awards. Campaign and service  awards  are  issued  to  personnel  who  have p a r t i c i p a t e d   i n   d e s i g n a t e d   wa r s ,   c a m p a i g n s , expeditions, or who have fulfilled creditable, specific, service  requirements.  Examples  of  campaign  and service awards are the Prisoner of War Medal, Good Conduct  Medal,  Antarctica  Service  Medal,  Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Foreign  decorations  and  non-U.S.  service awards. The foreign decorations and non-U.S. service awards that may be worn are listed in the   U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations,  NAVPERS 156650. Marksmanship awards. Some examples of the marksmanship  awards  include  the  Navy  Pistol Marksmanship  Medal/Ribbon,  the  Distinguished Marksman Badge, and the Navy Rifleman Excellence In Competition Badge. Aw a r d s   o f   m i l i t a r y   s o c i e t i e s   a n d   o t h e r organizations. Awards of military societies and other organizations  are  awards  from  the  following organizations: Regular Army and Navy Union, Medical Scientific Societies, Naval Reserve Association, and the Moreell Medal. Normally, awards are medals suspended from a pin by a distinctive ribbon; but there are exceptions, such as t h e    P r e s i d e n t i a l    U n i t    C i t a t i o n ,    N av y    U n i t Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and Combat Action Ribbon. These awards are not medals but ribbons that denote the citation. Medals are attached to the uniform just above the left breast pocket. Up to three medals are worn side by side. When there are more than three medals, they are attached  to  a  bar  in  an  overlapping  fashion  with  a maximum of five medals to a row (in their order of precedence). Except on special occasions (such as a personnel inspection), replicas of the medal suspension ribbons are worn. These ribbons are part of the service dress uniform. They are worn centered 1/4 inch above the left breast  pocket,  with  no  space  between  ribbons  or between rows. Each row may contain no more than three Student Notes: