Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon

Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon
Army (above) and Air Force (below) ribbons
Awarded by Department of the Air Force and Department of the Army
Type	Ribbon
Status	Current
Precedence
Next (higher)	Armed Forces Reserve Medal[1][2]
Next (lower)	Army: Army Service Ribbon[1] Air Force: Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon[2]

A Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon is an award presented by the United States Army and Air Force to recognize those noncommissioned officers who have completed a prescribed leadership course at an NCO training school. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have no equivalent to the Noncommissioned Officer Development Ribbon.

Army

The NCO Professional Development Ribbon (established in 1981) is issued by the U.S. Army for completion of any prescribed non-commissioned officer development courses. The first award of the NCO Professional Development Ribbon is issued for completion of the Basic Leader Course (BLC), formerly called the "Warrior Leader Course", "Primary NCO Course", "Combat Army Course", or "Primary Leadership Development Course" (PLDC). When a soldier completes additional schooling such as the Advanced Leaders Course, and Senior Leaders Course, an award numeral is worn on the ribbon to denote subsequent satisfactory completion of those courses. The highest numeral authorized for the NCO Professional Development Ribbon is "4". The numeral "5" was previously authorized for graduation from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy when the First Sergeant Course was a recognized course, since removed from consideration.^[3]

Appearance

The Army NCO Professional Development Ribbon is a green ribbon 1 ³⁄₈ inches (35 mm) wide. It has a center strip of ¹⁄₄ inch (6 mm) of Flag Blue, bordered by ¹⁄₁₆ inch (2 mm) stripes of yellow. Equidistant from the edge and center stripes on each side are ¹⁄₈ inch (3 mm) stripes of yellow. The green and yellow of the ribbon represent the chevrons worn by noncommissioned officers. The central stripe of blue represents support of the United States.^[4]

Air Force

The NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon was established by the Secretary of the Air Force on 28 August 1962. The ribbon is awarded to noncommissioned officers of the United States Air Force for completion of prescribed noncommissioned officer professional development programs. Approved programs are the NCO Preparatory Course, Airman Leadership School, NCO Leadership School, NCO Academy, and Senior NCO Academy. Select professional development programs of other services may also be counted for award of the ribbon. Eligible courses are the Army Sergeants Major Academy, Navy Senior Enlisted Academy, and Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy. The ribbon is awarded to individuals who complete the course in-residence and may now be awarded to those who only complete the correspondence course. Additional awards of the NCO Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon are denoted by oak leaf clusters.^[5]

References

1. "Ribbons - Order Of Precedence". Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
2. "Awards and Decorations". Air Force Personnel Center Library. Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 14 January 2013. External link in |work= (help)
3. "Section 578.42 - Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon.". Code of Federal Regulations. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
4. "NCO Professional Development Ribbon". The Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
5. "USAF NCO PME Graduate Ribbon". Air Force Personnel Center FAct Sheets. Air Force Personnel Center. Retrieved 8 July 2014. External link in |website= (help)