An Award star is a decoration issued by the United States military to denote multiple military awards issued to personnel of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and United States Marines. An award star is very similar to an Oak leaf cluster, which serves the same purpose.
Award stars are issued in two degrees, being that of gold and silver, with silver considered the higher degree as is the tradition in the U.S. military. An award star is issued “in lieu” of multiple awards of the same decoration with the first award star issued for the second award of the decoration. For instance, if a service member received three Achievement Medals, their service record would reflect the Achievement Medal with two gold award stars.
Silver award stars are issued in lieu of five gold, meaning that a silver star is provided for the 6th, 11th, 16th and so on, for subsequent awards of a decoration. There are no higher degrees of award stars authorized in lieu of five silver award stars.
Award stars are only issued for individual medals which are awarded for combat or meritorious service. They are not issued for service medals, which receive service stars. It is also a common misunderstanding to mistake the silver award star for the Silver Star, which is an entirely different decoration.
See also: Awards and decorations of the United States military