The letter “S” attachment is worn on either the Rifle Marksmanship or
Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon to indicate the wearer has earned a score that qualifies as “Sharpshooter.” For the Rifle qualification, which is performed with M16 or M14 series rifles, the “Sharpshooter qualifying scores are 160 to 169 out of a possible 200. For pistols (M9 or M11 series), the Sharpshooter scores 204 to 227 (maximum score is 240). The Rifle and Pistol Marksmanship Ribbons are very similar in design, with the Rifle Ribbon sporting a third green vertical stripe.
Sailors who score below the minimum score for Marksman are not considered qualified for that particular weapon, while those who earn a Marksman rating are presented with the Marksmanship Ribbon but no type of device or attachments to wear with it. Under the current system, Sailors must qualify in the Expert range of scores (minimum 228 on pistol, 170 on rifle) to be awarded with a Medal as well as a Marksmanship ribbon. That comes out to the top 5 percent of possible scores during pistol qualifying and the top 15 percent of possible scores when qualifying with a rifle.
In the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the “S” device is worn on the now-discontinued Auxiliary by Management Objective (AMOS) Member Resources Award Ribbon to indicate the wearer has received the
Annual Auxiliary Recruiting Service Award. It is also worn on the
Annual Auxiliary Operations Service Award to denote the wearer has completed at least 200 hours of Operational Support activity not involving movement of a facility.