Awards and Decorations of The Civil Air Patrol - Decorations - Other Decorations - Commander's Commendation Award

The Commander's Commendation Award is presented to Civil Air Patrol members for "outstanding duty performance where achievements and services are clearly and unmistakably exceptional when compared to similar achievements and service of members of like rank and responsibility." As in the case of the Meritorious Service Award, when an award is made to individuals who are part of an exceptionally successful group of CAP members, the regulation states that the Commander's Commendation Award should be presented only to those members whose efforts were clearly integral to the success of the program. The Commander's Commendation Award differs from the Exceptional Service Award and the Meritorious Service Award in that the former does not require the performance "achievements and services significantly above and beyond normal duty performance." Nominations for this award may be approved by and the award may be presented by either a wing, region, or national commander. In each case, the award is slightly different depending on the authority by whom it is approved:

• the basic ribbon is awarded to members who earn the award as authorized by their wing commander
• a bronze star is added to the ribbon when the award is authorized by the region commander
• a silver star is added to the ribbon when the award is authorized by the National Commander

If a CAP member is presented with multiple awards, a clasp is place to the left (from the point of view of the wearer) of a silver or bronze star. Only one star of each type will be worn on this award. Like the Exceptional Service Award and Meritorious Service Award, this commendation does not come with a full-sized medal. It consists of a ribbon and a certificate that accompanies the decoration. A miniature medal is available for senior members to wear on their mess dress uniforms.