Both the Air Force and the Coast Guard offer medals of America as awards for exceptional recruits who graduate at the top of their basic training classes.  The Coast Guard created their Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon in March of 1984.  These US military medals are bestowed upon those service members who graduate in the top three percent of their basic training instruction class.  These Coast Guard ribbons may be awarded retroactively upon application from a service member to the Coast Guard, but supporting documentation and a written request must be supplied for the request to be granted.  These Coast Guard ribbons have no corresponding military medals.

Due to the one-time-only nature of graduating from basic training, there are no provisions for additional awards of the Coast Guard Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon.  These military ribbons are worn below the Coast Guard Restricted Duty Ribbon and above the Philippine Defense Medal in the general order of precedence established by the Coast Guard for display of all military awards.   The Restricted Duty Ribbon is available as a lapel pin, and is often worn as a traditional slide on military ribbons.  Nowadays however, more and more military service personnel are realizing the value to their career goals of always having their uniform decorations looking their best, and have turned to the slimmer and trimmer thin military medals and mini medals and the ultra thin ribbon racks to provide them with the smartest looking military award displays possible.