SAN DIEGO — To the outside world, it may seem but a bit of brightly colored ribbon. But to U.S. Marines, the Combat Action Ribbon is greatly prized as proof they were in the fight, rather than in the rear with the gear.

"It's a badge of honor," said attorney Paul Geitner, a former Marine. "A Marine can wear it on his chest, and he doesn't have to say a thing. The ribbon says it all."

The rules for awarding the ribbon, which also may be given to sailors and Coast Guard personnel, were written in an era when war meant firefights — unlike the Iraqi insurgency, which employs roadside bombs and mortars and hides among civilians.

So the commandant of the Marine Corps has changed the standards for awarding the Combat Action Ribbon. Troops who "render satisfactory performance under enemy fire" can receive the ribbon, even if no shots are fired in response.

"Iraq, Afghanistan and the global war on terror represent a new type of battlefield," said Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commanding general of the Camp Pendleton-based 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Changing the criteria, he said, gives the Combat Action Ribbon "greater relevance for the type of combat in which Marines are currently engaged."

Sattler, who commanded Marines during the battle for Fallujah in late 2004, had asked Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee to review the Combat Action Ribbon.

"Marines were leaving (Iraq) after having participated in combat action and were not eligible because the criteria did not recognize the type of the threats we're seeing," said Lt. Col. Jim Taylor, leader of the Marine Corps' military awards section.

The first notice of the change came in March. Officers have until Jan. 1 to request that the ribbon be awarded to their troops retroactively.

So far, 85 Marines who previously had been rejected have received the Combat Action Ribbon under the new rules. The 85 were selected from 3,400 cases first submitted prior to the rule change.

The Combat Action Ribbon — with its gold, blue and red stripes — was created in 1969, during the Vietnam War. In 1999 the award was made retroactive, extended to personnel who served in World War II and Korea. Coast Guard personnel are eligible when working under Navy direction.

In a message to Marines, the commandant said that while the criteria for the Combat Action Ribbon have changed, the aggressive virtues it is meant to recognize have not.