Oak leaf cluster

This article is about the ribbon device representing an award. For the rank insignia, see Major (United States) and Lieutenant colonel (United States).

Oak leaf cluster
Bronze and silver oak leaf clusters
Type	Ribbon device
Awarded for	To denote preceding decorations and awards.[1]
Presented by	Department of Defense Department of the Army Department of the Air Force
Status	Currently in use

An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a specific set of decorations and awards of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and Department of the Air Force.^[2]

The bronze oak leaf cluster represents one additional award, while the silver oak leaf cluster is worn in lieu of five bronze oak leaf clusters.^[3]

Criteria and wear

Oak leaf clusters are worn with the stems of the leaves pointing to the wearer's right. For medals, 13⁄32-inch (10 mm) oak leaf clusters are worn on the medal's suspension ribbon.^[4] For service ribbons, 5⁄16-inch (7.9 mm) oak leaf clusters are worn, with no more than four oak leaf clusters being worn side by side.^[4][5] If the number of authorized oak leaf clusters exceeds four, a second ribbon is authorized for wear and is worn after the first ribbon.^[3] The second ribbon counts as one additional award, after which more leaf clusters may be added to the second ribbon. If future awards reduce the number of oak leaf clusters worn on the first ribbon due to bronze oak leaf clusters being replaced by a silver oak leaf cluster, the second ribbon is removed and the appropriate number of devices is placed on the first ribbon.^[3]

Examples

The following are examples of the first through twenty-first awards of an Army Commendation Medal with the bronze and silver oak leaf clusters:

First award
Second award
Third award
Fourth award
Fifth award
Sixth award
Seventh award
Eighth award
Ninth award
Tenth award
Eleventh award
Twelfth award
Thirteenth award
Fourteenth award
Fifteenth award
Sixteenth award
Seventeenth award
Eighteenth award
Nineteenth award
Twentieth award
Twenty-first award

Decorations and awards

Oak leaf clusters may be worn on Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and Department of the Air Force decorations and awards presented to members of the eight uniformed services: the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps.

Army personnel[6]	Air Force and Space Force personnel[7]	Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, PHS, and NOAA personnel[8][9][10][11]
Distinguished Service Cross and Air Force Cross	Distinguished Service Cross and Air Force Cross	Distinguished Service Cross and Air Force Cross
Defense Distinguished Service Medal	Defense Distinguished Service Medal	Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal and Air Force Distinguished Service Medal	Distinguished Service Medal and Air Force Distinguished Service Medal	Distinguished Service Medal and Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star	Silver Star
Defense Superior Service Medal	Defense Superior Service Medal	Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit	Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross	Distinguished Flying Cross
Soldier's Medal and Airman's Medal	Soldier's Medal and Airman's Medal	Soldier's Medal and Airman's Medal
Bronze Star Medal	Bronze Star Medal
Purple Heart	Purple Heart
Defense Meritorious Service Medal	Defense Meritorious Service Medal	Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal	Meritorious Service Medal
	Air Medal
	Aerial Achievement Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal	Joint Service Commendation Medal	Joint Service Commendation Medal
Army and Air Force Commendation Medal	Army and Air Force Commendation Medal	Army and Air Force Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal	Joint Service Achievement Medal	Joint Service Achievement Medal
Army and Air Force Achievement Medal	Army and Air Force Achievement Medal	Army and Air Force Achievement Medal
Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal	Combat Readiness Medal
	Air Force Good Conduct Medal and Space Force Good Conduct Medal
	Air and Space Longevity Service Award
Presidential Unit Citation	Presidential Unit Citation
	Overseas Service Ribbon (long and short tours)
Joint Meritorious Unit Award	Joint Meritorious Unit Award	Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Valorous Unit Award	Gallant Unit Citation
Meritorious Unit Commendation	Meritorious Unit Award
Superior Unit Award	Outstanding Unit Award
	Organizational Excellence Award
	Air Force NCO PME Graduate Ribbon
	Air and Space Training Ribbon

Except for the Air Medal, unique decorations and awards issued by Department of the Army or Department of the Air Force, and those decorations and awards issued by the Department of Defense, the other uniformed services use 5⁄16 inch stars to indicate subsequent personal decorations only; a gold 5⁄16 inch star is equivalent to a bronze oak leaf cluster, while a silver 5⁄16 inch star is equivalent to a silver oak leaf cluster.^[12] While the Air Force uses oak leaf clusters for the Air Medal, since the Vietnam War, the Army has used 3⁄16-inch (4.8 mm) bronze Arabic numerals to denote subsequent awards, in which case the ribbon denotes the first award and numerals starting with the numeral "2" denote additional awards.^[13]

Other nations

In other nations, oak leaf clusters are also used as symbols for various awards and decorations. In Germany, the German oak is the national tree of Germany, thus oak leaves are a prominent symbol on most German military orders. During World War II, the Knight's Cross of the German Iron Cross could be awarded with the additional distinction of oak leaves (mit Eichenlaub). Of the 7,313 awards of the Knight's Cross, only 882 received oak leaves. After World War II, Iron Crosses awarded previously could be worn by the recipient provided the swastika was replaced by oak leaves. The Bundeswehr awards the Cross of Honour for Bravery for extraordinary bravery. The Cross of Honour for Bravery differs from the Badge of Honour by an adornment in the shape of stylized double oak leaves.^[14] Furthermore, it was featured on the Pfennig in Germany and since the introduction of the euro in 2001 it is used on the obverse side of the German euro coinage. In earlier times, the Pour le Mérite, the highest military order in the Kingdom of Prussia, could also be awarded with oak leaves. A civil version of the order, for accomplishments in the arts and sciences, still exists in the Federal Republic of Germany.

In Commonwealth countries, a bronze oak leaf signifies a Mention in Despatches, and is worn as a gallantry award in its own right, rather than to signify multiple instances of campaign service. The Commonwealth equivalent of a United States oak leaf cluster is a medal bar worn with a campaign medal.

Oak leaves are a common motif on military symbols in Turkey because of the famed longevity of the oak tree. They appear on the emblem of Turkish Land Forces,^[15] the emblem of Gendarmerie General Command^[16] and together with acorns on the non-commissioned officer insignia of Turkish Naval Forces.

See also

• Awards and decorations of the United States military
• United States military award devices
• 5/16 inch star
• Service, battle, or campaign star

References

1. DoD Awards Manual, 1348.33 V3
2. DoD Awards Manual 1348.33, V3, P. 16 (2) bottom, 23 November 2010
3. "Army Regulation 670-1" (PDF). 26 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
4. "Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia" (PDF). 26 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
5. "DoDM 1348.33-V3, November 23, 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
6. "Army Regulation 600-8-22]" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011.
7. "Department of the Air Force Instruction 36-2803" (PDF). 3 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
8. "SECNAVINST 1650.1H" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
9. Coast Guard Commandant Instruction 1650.25D
10. "Commissioned Corps Instruction CC26.3.3 Wear of Ribbons and Medals" (PDF). [Commissioned Corps Management Information System website]. United States Public Health Service. 28 August 2008. p. 12. Archived from the original (pdf) on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
11. "NOAA Corps Directives, Chapter 12 PART 6 – Insignia, Medals, and Ribbon Bars" (PDF). [Commissioned Corps Personnel Center]. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
12. DoD Awards Manual 1348.33, V3, P. 50 "AM" (P. 51 Table 1, Key 1., 2., 11., 13.), 23 November 2010
13. DoD Awards Manual, V3, P. 55&56 (1), (2), 23 November 2010
14. "Stiftungserlass des BMVg vom 13. August 2008" (PDF) (in German). Bundeswehr.de. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
15. "Kara Kuvvetleri Amblemi" (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
16. "Kurumsal Kimlik" (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 December 2023.