The Idaho National Guard Cross honors Idaho National Guard members who carry out an act of heroism or exceptional valor; it is the highest military award issued at the state level in Idaho.
The Idaho National Guard consists of the Idaho Army National Guard and the Idaho Air National Guard. Headquartered in Boise, the Army component is made up of more than 3,500 soldiers and traces back to militia activity in the nineteenth century’s Nez Perce Indian Wars. The Air component, also based in Boise, was officially formed on September 18, 1947 when the United States Air Force became a separate branch of the military.
The ribbon is dark blue with a thick vertical white stripe toward each edge.