HISTORIC TIMELINE
We are exceptionally proud of our heritage as Marine Security Guards, our continued service to our Country, and to our Corps.
We are COMMITTED to, and will do everything in our power, to PRESERVE and PROTECT that heritage.
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TIMELINE CONTRIBUTION FORM
Foreign Service Act of 1946
August 13, 1946 
The formal and permanent use of Marines as security guards began with the Foreign Service Act of 1946, which authorized the Secretary of Navy to, upon the request of the Secretary of State, assign Marines to serve as custodians under the supervision of the senior diplomatic officer at a diplomatic
Read more First Marine Security Guard Killed In Action
January 31, 1968 Corporal James C. Marshall climbed the roof of a small building in the Consular compound and was firing on Viet Cong in the Embassy compound, when he was hit by a rocket fragment. He remained in place firing on the Viet Cong until he was shot and killed, he would
Read more Establishment of the Marine Security Guard Ribbon
July 16, 1997 The Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon is a Marine Corps military award that was established by order of Secretary of the Navy John Howard Dalton on July 15, 1997. The award recognizes those Marine Corps personnel who have served as U.S. Embassy Security Guards and is retroactive to January 28, 1949.
To be awarded the Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon, a service member must hold the Marine Corps military occupational specialty (MOS) 8156 (previously 8151) Marine Corps Security Guard and must have served twenty-four months of service at an American embassy or consulate. The award is only awarded to Marine Security Guards for their service at American Embassies or Consulates in a foreign country.
Additional awards of the Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon are denoted by service stars except for those awards which are retroactively presented, in which case the Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon is a one time only decoration.
FULL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Read more Terrorist Attacks in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
August 7, 1997 The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which over 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the other at the United States Embassy
Read more 
Foreign Service Act of 1946
August 13, 1946
The formal and permanent use of Marines as security guards began with the Foreign Service Act of 1946, which authorized the Secretary of Navy to, upon the request of the Secretary of State, assign Marines to serve as custodians under the supervision of the senior diplomatic officer at a diplomatic
Read moreFirst Marine Security Guard Killed In Action
January 31, 1968
Corporal James C. Marshall climbed the roof of a small building in the Consular compound and was firing on Viet Cong in the Embassy compound, when he was hit by a rocket fragment. He remained in place firing on the Viet Cong until he was shot and killed, he would
Read moreEstablishment of the Marine Security Guard Ribbon
July 16, 1997
The Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon is a Marine Corps military award that was established by order of Secretary of the Navy John Howard Dalton on July 15, 1997. The award recognizes those Marine Corps personnel who have served as U.S. Embassy Security Guards and is retroactive to January 28, 1949.
To be awarded the Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon, a service member must hold the Marine Corps military occupational specialty (MOS) 8156 (previously 8151) Marine Corps Security Guard and must have served twenty-four months of service at an American embassy or consulate. The award is only awarded to Marine Security Guards for their service at American Embassies or Consulates in a foreign country.
Additional awards of the Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon are denoted by service stars except for those awards which are retroactively presented, in which case the Marine Corps Security Guard Ribbon is a one time only decoration.
FULL INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
Read moreTerrorist Attacks in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
August 7, 1997
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which over 200 people were killed in nearly simultaneous truck bomb explosions in two East African cities, one at the United States Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the other at the United States Embassy
Read more
