# Good conduct loop

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A **good conduct knot**/**loop** is an [award device](/source/United_States_military_award_devices) of the [Department of the Army](/source/Department_of_the_Army) which denotes additional decorations of the [Army Good Conduct Medal](/source/Army_Good_Conduct_Medal).

## History

Good conduct loops were first created in 1941 and were based on the concept of the [enlistment bar](/source/Enlistment_Bar). Good Conduct Loops have remained the primary method of displaying multiple bestowals of the Army Good Conduct Medal, and may be said to show how many "hitches" (periods of service) a soldier has served.[1] The current U.S. Army policy is to award the medal after every three years of qualifying service.[2]

Good conduct loops are worn on a [clasp](/source/Medal_bar) attached to the [service ribbon](/source/Service_ribbon) and suspension ribbon of the Good Conduct Medal. A Good Conduct Loop comprises a clasp with several inscribed loops. The second award of a Good Conduct Medal would display a bronze clasp with two loops, the third would show a bronze clasp with three loops, and so on. At six loops, the clasp changes to silver, and then at eleven loops the clasp changes to gold. Thus, a silver clasp with two loops would denote the seventh award of the Good Conduct Medal while a gold clasp with five loops would indicate the fifteenth award of the Good Conduct Medal, which is the highest that the regulations list.[3][4]

The Army Good Conduct Medal is the only one of the service Good Conduct awards which uses Good Conduct Loops. The [U.S. Navy](/source/United_States_Navy), [U.S. Marine Corps](/source/United_States_Marine_Corps), and [U.S. Coast Guard](/source/United_States_Coast_Guard) display additional Good Conduct awards with [service stars](/source/Service_stars), while the [U.S. Air Force](/source/United_States_Air_Force) uses oak leaf clusters.

## See also

- [Awards and decorations of the United States military](/source/Awards_and_decorations_of_the_United_States_military)
- [United States military award devices](/source/United_States_military_award_devices)

## References

1. ["U.S. Army Award/Medal/Ribbon Accouterments/Attachments Information"](https://veteranmedals.army.mil/home/us-army-medals-award-badges-ribbon-and-attachments-information/USArmy-Award-Medal-Ribbon-Accouterments-Attachments-Information). *NATICK*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20250713004149/https://veteranmedals.army.mil/home/us-army-medals-award-badges-ribbon-and-attachments-information/USArmy-Award-Medal-Ribbon-Accouterments-Attachments-Information) July 13, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-12-17.

1. ["Army Good Conduct Medal AGCM"](https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Army%20Good%20Conduct%20Medal%20AGCM). *US Army Human Resources Command*

1. ["Department of the Army, DoD § 578.37"](http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/pdf/32cfr578.38.pdf) (pdf). GPO. 2006. Retrieved 2010-09-19.

1. ["Army Good Conduct Medal"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000414/http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15263&CategoryId=4&grp=4&menu=Decorations). The Institute of Heraldry, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. Archived from [the original](http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15263&CategoryId=4&grp=4&menu=Decorations) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 2015-01-09.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Good conduct loop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_conduct_loop) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_conduct_loop?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.