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United States service crosses (WIP)
The following is a list of medals awarded by each each armed service of the United States military. These medals are collectively known as "service crosses."[1][2] The service crosses represent the armed services' second-highest valor awards (with each service cross being equivalent in precedence to each other) below the Medal of Honor.
The Distinguished Service Cross, awarded by the United States Army, was created in 1918 and was awarded to United States Air Force (USAF) personnel until 1960.
The Navy Cross, awarded by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps, was created in 1919.
The Air Force Cross, awarded by the USAF and United States Space Force, was created in 1960 (although the first award was not until 1964). Between the USAF's creation in 1948 and 1960, USAF personnel were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
The Coast Guard Cross, awarded by the United States Coast Guard (USCG), was created in 2010. USCG personnel were previously eligible for the Navy Cross. The USCG operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime. It can be transferred in whole or in part to the Department of the Navy under the Department of Defense by order of the president or via an act of Congress (although this has not occurred since World War II). If serving under the Department of the Navy, USCG personnel may still be awarded the Navy Cross.
| Medal | Awarding branch | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distinguished Service Cross | United States Army | 13,400+ awarded[3] |  |
| Navy Cross | United States Navy and United States Marine Corps | 6,300+ awarded[4] |  |
| Air Force Cross | United States Air Force and United States Space Force | 203 awarded (as of 2026)[5] |  |
| Coast Guard Cross | United States Coast Guard | Never awarded[6] |  |
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Super-heavy AP shells (WIP)
WIP — Super-heavy armor piercing shells were specialized armor-piercing (AP) shells developed by the United States Navy (USN) for use with several naval gun systems. Markedly heavier than "standard" AP shells of equivalent size, super-heavy shells were designed to increase armor-penetration performance. Utilized operationally initially in the late interwar period through the Cold War, super-heavy AP shells represented an integral component of USN naval artillery capabilities. — WIP
Development (WIP)
During the interwar period the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, 1930 London Naval Treaty, and the 1936 London Naval Treaty would restrict warship displacement and naval gun size. In the 1930s, even with the United States’ primary potential naval opponents adhering to these treaties, the USN was still concerned about increasing world tension leading to an unregulated naval arms race, as had occurred in the lead-up to World War I. The Royal Navy’s 1906 HMS Dreadnought lent her name to an entire generation of dreadnoughts, themselves leading to super-dreadnoughts; armored cruisers and protected cruisers would lead to light cruisers, heavy cruisers, and battlecruisers; All of them developments due to the unchecked pre-WWI naval arms race. Consistent among these design evolutions, however, were ballooning vessel displacements and increasing main battery sizes.
With the USN Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) acknowledging this historical precedent, and with their own development of 16-inch guns for the Colorado-class, it became apparent that naval powers such as Nazi Germany’s Krigesmarine or (of most concern to the USN) the Imperial Japanese Navy might develop guns that USN battleships were not armored against. However, bound by treaty, the USN was restricted from developing guns larger than the extant 16-inch guns. As such, in the early 1930s, BuOrd began investigating the possibility of improving armor-penetration capabilities of current weapons systems, primarily via improved ammunition types.
The first experiments occurred with the Colorado-class main battery; by the mid-1930s, the 2,240 lb (1,016 kg) Mark 5 "heavy" AP shell was developed, replacing the 2,110 lb (957 kg) Mark 3 shell, a roughly 6.2% increase in weight. The additional weight was attained via the hardening and thickening of the shells’ ballistic cap (with the downside of a reduced bursting charge). However, this 6.2% increase weight resulted in a roughly 10% increase in deck penetration capability; The heavier, lower-velocity shell flew in a higher-arching trajectory, resulting in less-oblique contact with armor. BuOrd would note that such "heavy" shells also had the potential to reduce belt armor penetration in medium-range engagements, but it it was felt that the increased deck penetration gained in long-range engagements more than made-up for this.
In 1934, Imperial Japan announced their intention to repudiate the 1930 London Naval Treaty starting in 1936. As such, the 1936 London Naval Treaty, while officially capping gun-size at 14-inches, added an "escalator clause" which specified that non-adherence to the previous series of treaties would permit signatories to begin utilizing 16-inch guns again. This clause would lead directly to the primary armament schemes of the North Carolina-class, South Dakota-class, Iowa-class, and the abortive Montana-class of fast battleships. Even with the return of 16-inch guns, the USN Bureau of Construction and Repair began creating draft sketches of 18- and 20-inch gun ships.
On July 10, 1937, President Roosevelt, in-response to the Imperial Japanese naval treaty abrogation, ordered that the mid-construction North Carolina-class be armed with 16-inch/45-caliber Mark 6 guns vice the 14-inch/50-caliber Mark "B" guns. Initially, the 2,240 lb (1,016 kg) Mark 5 "heavy" AP shell (originally developed for the Colorado-class) was to be used vice the standard 2,110 lb (957 kg) Mark 3 shell. However, the North Carolina-class, despite mounting similar main guns as the Colorado-class (16-inch/45-caliber Mark 6 guns vice the Colorado-class 16-inch/45-caliber Mark 1, Mark 5, or Mark 8 guns) could utilize both heavier and slightly longer shells, due to upgraded handling and loading equipment. As such, BuOrd developed the 2,700 lb (1,225 kg) Mark 8 AP shell, the first "super-heavy" shell.
In addition to battleship shells, BuOrd developed super-heavy shells for both 6-inch (light cruiser) guns and 8-inch (heavy cruiser) guns. Super-heavy shells were also created for the 12-inch guns of the Alaska-class "large cruisers."
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Marineküstenpolizei
The Marineküstenpolizei (MKP) (German: [maʁi:nəkʏstənpo:lɪt͡saɪ̯]; lit. 'Navy Coastal Police') were the military police of the WWII-era Nazi German navy (the Kriegsmarine). The MKP was charged with enforcing military, naval, and maritime law, as well as the laws of Nazi Germany and German-occupied territories. MKP personnel could be assigned to naval vessels, to MKP-operated patrol boats, or to shore-based law enforcement duties. MKP personnel were the Kriegsmarine's equivalent of the Feldgendarmerie (and later, the Feldjägerkorps) of the Heer, the Luftwaffe's Feldgendarmerie, and the SS-Feldgendarmerie of the Waffen-SS. The MKP was disbanded post-war with the Kriegsmarine proper. The MKP was separate and distinct from the Marine-Stoßtrupp-Kompanie or MSK of the Kriegsmarine; The MSK functioned as a company-size naval infantry unit.
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
USBI
The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) of Utah is a state criminal investigatory agency. As a law enforcement agency, its sworn personnel are armed and hold police powers. The SBI's mission is to "provide professional investigative services to all people by investigating crime and working with allied agencies and the community." The SBI serves as the investigatory arm of the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS), with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) serving as the (primarily) uniformed patrol arm of the DPS. The UHP and SBI, while both falling under the DPS, are separate law enforcement agencies.
The SBI performs complex and/or major criminal investigations across the state of Utah, providing criminal investigatory capabilities to areas, jurisdictions, and agencies that might otherwise not have such capabilities. Larger agencies within Utah, such as the Salt Lake City Police Department, may have their own criminal investigatory capabilities but will still cooperate extensively with the SBI.
In addition to more "traditional" criminal investigations, the SBI also maintains dedicated alcohol enforcement, drug enforcement/interdicition, threat management, cyber crimes, human trafficking, victim services, and sexual assault units.
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