Awards Criteria

"Earned, Not Given: The Standard of Excellence."

JROTC awards and decorations are designed to recognize cadets for their achievements, leadership, academic excellence, and participation in unit and community activities.

Categories of Awards

Academic Awards: Recognize scholastic excellence, such as high GPA (e.g., Academic Excellence Ribbon), perfect attendance, or high grades in JROTC subjects.
Military Awards: Awarded for excellence in military bearing, drill team participation, color guard, orienteering, or superior performance.
Athletic Awards: Given to cadets who excel in physical fitness tests or participate in team sports.
Service/Activity Awards: Recognize participation in community service, recruiting efforts, school support, or special projects.
National Awards: Sponsored by military-related organizations (e.g., American Legion, DAR, VFW, Daedalians) for outstanding leadership and patriotism.

ACADEMIC AWARDS

N-1-1 Distinguished Cadet Award for Scholastic Excellence: Awarded annually to one Cadet who exhibits the degree of excellence inscholastics.

N-1-2 Academic Excellence Ribbon: Awarded annually to one Cadet in each LET level for achieving the highestacademic grades.

N-1-3 Academic Achievement Ribbon: Awarded annually to those Cadets who maintain a grade of “A” in JROTC anda “B” in the remaining academic subjects.

N-1-4Perfect Attendance Ribbon: Awarded to Cadets with no unexcused absences during eachsemester.

N-1-5 Student Government Ribbon: Elected to a student government office.

N-1-6 Leadership Development Service Ribbon: Awarded to Cadets successfully completing a semester of training of
each LET year.

N-1-7 Scholastic Excellence Ribbon: Awarded annually to cadets who achieve a ranking within the top 10% of their Plant City Class

N-1-8 Cadet of the Year Participant: Awarded to cadets who participate on local cadet of the year boards.

N-1-9 Community Service: Awarded to cadets who participate in community service projects sponsored by the JROTC

N-1-10 JLAB Team Ribbon: Awarded annually to JLAB team members.

Academic Achievement Wreath: Cadets with at least a “B” average in all subjects and an “A” average in JROTC

ATHLETIC AWARDS

N-2-1 Varsity Athletic Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets in varsity sports.

N-2-2 Physical Fitness Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who maintain excellent physical fitness. The ribbon will be presented to Cadets receiving an 85-percentile rating or better in all five Cadet Challenge events.

N-2-3 ROTC Athletic Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who maintain a basic, yet challenging level of physical fitness. The ribbon will be presented to Cadets receiving a 50-percentile rating or better in all five Cadet Challenge events.

N-2-4 Cadet Challenge Ribbon: Awarded annually to cadets who actively participate and complete all 5 Cadet Challenge Fitness events

N-2-5 Raider Team Ribbon: Awarded annually to Raider team members.

MILITARY AWARDS

N-3-1 Senior Army Instructor Leadership Ribbon: Awarded annually to the one Cadet in each LET level who displays the highest degree of leadership.

N-3-2 Personal Appearance Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who consistently present an outstanding appearance

N-3-3 Proficiency Ribbon: Awarded annually to those Cadets who have demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of leadership, academic achievement, and performance of duty

N-3-4 Drill Team Ribbon: Awarded annually to drill team members.

N-3-5 Orienteering Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who attend JCLC and complete the Land Navigation Course

N-3-6 Color/Honor Guard Ribbon: Awarded to members of color/honor guard for completing a minimum of 3 Color/Honor Guards

N-3-7 Marksmanship Team Ribbon: Awarded annually to rifle team members.

N-3-8 Adventure Team Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who are members of adventure training type units

N-3-9 Commendation Ribbon: Awarded to Cadets whose performance of duty exceptionally exceeds that expected of Cadets of their grade and experience.

N-3-10 Good Conduct Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who have demonstrated outstanding conduct throughout the school

N-3-11 JCLC Participation Ribbon: Awarded to Cadets for JCLC participation.

N-3-12 Best Drill Squad: Awarded to squad members who receive the highest evaluation during the best drill squad evaluation during Field Day

N-3-13 Best Drill Platoon: Awarded to Platoon members who receive the highest evaluation during the best drill Platoon evaluation during Field Day

N-3-14 Honor Company: Awarded to members in the company who win the overall Honor Company Award

N-3-15 Fundraiser Ribbon: Awarded to cadets who participate in at least on JROTC Fundraiser

MISCELLANEOUS AWARDS

N-4-1 Parade Ribbon: Awarded to Cadets who have participated in local community parades; for example, Plant City Christmas Parade, Strawberry Festival Parade, etc

N-4-2 Recruiting Ribbon: Awarded to Cadets who recruit students into the JROTC program each semester.

N-4-3 Best Dress Cadet Ribbon: Awarded to cadets who are designated as the best dressed cadet on uniform day 3 times

N-4-4 Best Company Commander Ribbon: Awarded annually to the best performing Company Commander

N-4-5 Best Company First Sergeant Ribbon: Awarded annually to the best performing Company First Sergeant

N-4-6 Service Learning Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadets who participate in service learning projects.

N-4-7 Excellent Staff Performance Ribbon: Awarded annually to Cadet Staff Officers for excellent performance.

SHOULDER CORDS

WHITE: Color Guard - Awarded to Cadets who complete 3 Ceremonial Color Guards (Must be renewed each year) or Cadets who are actively performing Color Guard as a member of the Drill Team.

RED: Drill - Awarded only to bona fide Drill team, not Cadets participating in training. Only Cadets who are current members of the team may wear the shoulder cord.

TAN: RIFLE - Awarded only to bona fide Rifle team, not Cadets participating in training. Only Cadets who are current members of the team may wear the shoulder cord.

BLACK: Raider - Awarded only to bona fide Raider team, not Cadets participating in training. Only Cadets who are current members of the team may wear the shoulder cord.

Gold: Honor Organizations / JLAB - Awarded only to bona fide JLAB team or Members of the National Honors Society, not Cadets participating in training. Only Cadets who are current members of the team may wear the shoulder cord.

ARCS

Color Guard: Awarded at the end of the year to Cadets who complete 6 Cerimonal Color Guards or Cadets who are actively performed Color Guard as a member of the Drill Team.

Drill Team: Awarded only to bona fide Drill team, not Cadets who participated in training. Only Cadets who competed during the year

Rifle Team: Awarded only to bona fide Rifle team, not Cadets who participated in training. Only Cadets who competed during the year

Academics Team: Awarded only to bona fide JLAB team, not Cadets who participated in training. Only Cadets who competed during the year

JCLC: Awarded to Cadets for JCLC participation.

MARKSMANSHIP BADGES

Rifle Marksmanship Badge: Awarded to members of the Rifle team who achieve a score of 200-219

Rifle Sharpshooter Badge: Awarded to members of the Rifle team who achieve a score of 220-244

Rifle Expert Badge: Awarded to members of the Rifle team who achieve a score of 245-300