Established on January 12, 1966, the Army Valorous Unit Citation Award honors units of the United States Army that perform exceptionally heroic acts or otherwise exhibit noteworthy bravery while carrying out operations against hostile forces. Qualifying acts are typically of a nature lesser than those that would warrant the Presidential Unit Citation. the Army Valorous Unit Citation Award is comparable in prestige to the Silver Star, which is issued at the individual level.
The ribbon is red with a central section consisting of thin vertical stripes of blue, white, red, white, and blue from right to left; the blue stripes are decorated with a thinner vertical white line. The ribbon features a gold frame with a leaf pattern.
Subsequent awards may be indicated by oak leaf clusters.