It is awarded to members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard (when the Coast Guard or units thereof operate under the control of the Navy) in the grade of captain/colonel and junior thereto, who have actively participated in ground or surface combat. Upon submission of evidence to their commanding officer, personnel who earned the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge while a member of the U.S. Army may be authorized to wear the CAR.

The principal eligibility criterion is that the individual must have participated in a bona fide ground or surface combat fire-fight or action during which he/she was under enemy fire and his/her performance while under fire was satisfactory. Service in a combat area does not automatically entitle a service member to the CAR. The following amplifying remarks are furnished as guidance.

• Personnel in riverine and coastal operations, assaults, patrols, sweeps, ambushes, convoys, amphibious landings, and similar activities who have participated in fire fights are eligible.
• Personnel assigned to areas subjected to sustained mortar, missile, and artillery attacks actively participate in retaliatory or offensive actions are eligible.
• Personnel in clandestine or special operations such as reconnaissance, SEAL teams, EOD teams, and Mine Countermeasures operations are eligible when the risk of enemy fire was great and was expected to be encountered.
• Personnel aboard a ship are eligible when the safety of the ship and the crew were endangered by enemy attack, such as a ship hit by a mine or a ship engaged by shore, surface, air or sub-surface elements.
• Personnel eligible for the award of the Purple Heart would not necessarily qualify for the Combat Action Ribbon.
• Personnel serving in peacekeeping missions, if not eligible by the criteria cited above, are eligible to receive the award when all of the following criteria are met:
  • the member was subject to hostile, direct fire,
  • based on the mission and the tactical situation, not returning fire was the best course of action,
    and
  • the member was in compliance with the rules of engagement and his orders by not returning fire.
• The CAR will not be awarded to personnel for aerial combat since the Strike/Flight Air Medal provides recognition for aerial combat exposure; however, a pilot or crewmember forced to escape or evade after being forced down could be eligible for the award.
• Under Public Law 106-55, the CAR may be awarded retroactively to 7 Dec 41.

An individual, whose eligibility has been established in combat in any of the following listed operations is authorized the award of the CAR. Only one award per operation is authorized. The listing is not all inclusive as the CAR has been awarded in minor operations and for specific actions. Subsequent awards will be indicated by the use of a Gold Star on the ribbon:

1. Southeast Asia. From 1 Mar 61 to 15 Aug 73.
2. Dominican Republic. From 28 Apr 65 to 21 Sep 66. (No ships)
3. USS LIBERTY (AGTR 5). 8 Jun 67 and 9 Jun 67.
4. USS PUEBLO (AGTR 2). 23 Jan 68.
5. Operation FREQUENT WIND. (Evacuation Operations, Saigon) 29 Apr 75 and 30 Apr 75. (No ships)
6. Operation MAYAGUEZ. 15 May 75. (No ships)
7. Grenada. 24 Oct 83 - 2 Nov 83. (No ships)
8. Lebanon. 20 Aug 82 to 1 Aug 84. (No ships)
9. Persian Gulf
   1. COMNAVSPECWAR Task Unit Tango - 22 Sep 87
   2. USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58) - 14 Apr 88
   3. Operation PRAYING MANTIS - 18 Apr 88
      • SAG BRAVO
        COMDESRON NINE STAFF embarked on (DD 976)
        USS MERRILL (DD 976)
        HSL-35 DET 1
        USS LYNDE MCCORMICK (DDG 8)
        USS TRENTON (LPD 14)
        CONTINGENCY MAGTF 2-88
        HSL 44, DET 5
        
      • SAG CHARLIE
        USS WAINWRIGHT (CG 28)
        USS BAGLEY (FF 1069)
        HSL-35, DET 7
        USS SIMPSON (FFG 56)
        HSL-42, DET 10
        COMMANDER, NAVAL SPECIAL WARFARE TASK GROUP MIDDLE EAST FORCE
        SEAL TEAM TWO, THIRD PLATOON
        
      • SAG DELTA
        COMDESRON TWENTY-TWO
        USS JACK WILLIAMS (FFG 24)
        HSL-32, DET 2
        USS JOSEPH STRAUSS (DDG 16)
        USS O'BRIEN (DD 975)
        HSL-33, DET 2
        CO, SPEC BOAT UNIT TWELVE
        SEAL TEAM 5, PLATOON C
        
   4. USS ELMER MONTGOMERY (FF 1082) and USS VINCENNES (CG 49) - 3 Jul 88
   5. Persian Gulf MCM Operations. Specific units during 19 Nov 87 to 1 Apr 88; 14 to 20 Apr 88; 20 to 23 Apr 88; and 2 Aug 90 to 10 Sep 91.
10. Operation JUST CAUSE (Panama). 20 Dec 89 - 31 Jan 90. (No ships)
11. Operation SHARP EDGE. 5 Aug 90 - 24 Aug 90. (No ships)
12. Operation DESERT STORM. 17 Jan 91 - 28 Feb 91.
    1. The Secretary of the Navy approved the CAR as an exception to policy for the following ships that operated north of 28.30N and west of 49.30E from 17 Jan 91 to 28 Feb 91:
       USS ADROIT (MSO 509)
       USS AVENGER (MCM 1)
       USS BEAUFORT (ATS 2)
       USS BUNKER HILL (CG 52)
       USS CARON (DD 970)
       USS CURTS (FFG 38)
       USS DURHAM (LKA 114)
       USS FIFE (DD 991)
       USS FORD (FFG 54)
       USS FORT MCHENRY (LSD 43)
       USS PAUL F. FOSTER (DD 964)
       USS HAWES (FFG 53)
       USNS HASSAYAMPA (T-AO 145)
       USS HORNE (CG 30)
       USS IMPERVIOUS (MSO 449)
       USS JARRETT (FFG 33)
       USS KIDD (DDG 993)
       USS LASALLE (AGF 3)
       USS LEADER (MSO 490)
       USS LEFTWICH (DD 984)
       USS MACDONOUGH (DDG 39)
       USS MCINERNEY (FFG 8)
       USS MISSOURI (BB 63)
       USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53)
       USS NASSAU (LHA 4)
       USS NIAGARA FALLS (AFS 3)
       USS NICHOLAS (FFG 47)
       USS OKINAWA (LPH 3)
       USS OLDENDORF (DD 972)
       USNS PASSUMPSIC (T-AO 107)
       USS PORTLAND (LSD 37)
       USS PRINCETON (CG 59)
       USS RALEIGH (LPD 1)
       USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10)
       USS VREELAND (FF 1068)
       USS WISCONSIN (BB 64)
       USS WORDEN (CG 18)
    2. The following ships were approved for the dates indicated:
       USNS COMFORT (T-AH 20) 26 Feb 91
       USS GUAM (LPH 9) 25-26 Feb 91
       USS IWO JIMA (LPH 2) 26 Feb 91
       USS OGDEN (LPD 5) 25-26 Feb 91
       USS MISSOURI (BB 63) 12 Feb 91 and 25 Feb 91
       VC-6 Detachment
       EODMU Detachments
       USS RICHMOND K. TURNER (CG 20) 19-24 Feb 91
       USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50) 16-28 Feb 91
       USS LEADER (MSO 490) 23 Mar 91
       
13. El Salvador. 1 Jan 81 to 1 Feb 92.
14. Operation RESTORE HOPE (Somalia). 5 Dec 92 - 31 Mar 95. (No ships)
15. Cambodia. 1 Jun 92 to 15 Nov 93.
16. Operation ASSURED RESPONSE (Monrovia, Liberia). 7 Apr 96 to 18 Apr 96. (No ships)
17. Kosovo Campaign. Specific units designated from 24 Mar 99 to 27 Jan 00.

SECNAV determines which operations meet the criteria for this award. Requests for determination of eligibility of individuals for operations subsequent to 1975 should be sent to SECNAV via the chain of command including CNO or CMC, as appropriate, unless specifically delegated by SECNAV.

Page contents extracted from SECNAVINST 1650.1G, Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, 7 Jan 2002.