changed their criteria such that new awards of the "V" would be for valor only, to denote a heroic act or acts while participating in conflict or combat with an armed enemy. On 6 January 2016, the Department of Defense announced that it was revising its military decorations and awards program to include a "V" device change to its original 1940s use of denoting heroism in combat only on specific decorations for the military services. Two new "C" and "R" devices will also be used on relevant awards. Device changes On 2 February 2017, new silver-plated and gold-plated "V" devices were introduced, followed by wreathed versions in September which led to speculation that the various versions of the "V" device would now indicate how many times a specific medal was awarded with the "V." The U.S. Air Force uniform regulations update of 15 April 2019, was the first to describe and depict the new "V" devices as follows: On 21 December 2016, the "V" device ceased being authorized for Achievement Medals. Retroactive to January 2016, the "V" device ceased being authorized for the Legion of Merit, being replaced by the "C" device. Decorations eligible for the "V" device Currently, the following decorations of the United States Armed Forces are eligible to be awarded with a "V" device. Army and Air Force For the Army and the Air Force, the "V" is positioned to the right of any bronze or silver oak leaf clusters from the wearer's perspective, or positioned in the center of the service ribbon if worn alone. Only 4 devices may be worn per ribbon; an additional ribbon is worn to the wearer's left when necessary to support additional devices: Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard For the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, the "V" is always worn in the center of the service ribbon, while any gold or silver Inch Stars are added in balance to the right and left of the "V" starting with the right side from the wearer's perspective. Marine Corps refer to it as Combat Distinguishing Device. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard continue to award and issue the bronze version. The Marine Corps allows anodized medals and anodized Combat "V"s to be worn on the dress blues uniform. Combined with Arabic numerals Golden or brass Arabic numerals may be used to indicate the total number of times the medal was