Canada has two new awards to recognize its military and civilians who serve in the presence of an armed enemy. The General Campaign Star and the General Service Medal, approved by Her Majesty the Queen, will fill an important gap in our honours system. They provide recognition for all operations short of full-scale war that nonetheless take place in the presence of an armed enemy.

Those Canadian military who serve in an area of operations in the presence of armed combatants will receive the Star, as they may be called upon to fight. Those in support, including Canadian civilians, will receive the medal.

Unlike many previous awards, the General Campaign Star and General Service Medal are not mission or operation specific. They are general service awards to be used for any future operations that meet the criteria, so the designs are not specific to any particular operation.

The star is a gold-coloured four-point star representing the cardinal points of a compass. On the reverse are the Queen’s cipher ER and a plain space for engraving. The ribbon has a central stripe of dark green; on either side are stripes of white and red.

The General Service Medal can be awarded to Canadian Forces members, allied forces and civilians. The silver-coloured medal is circular bearing a contemporary crowned image of the Queen. The reverse features the Royal Crown, crossed swords, anchor and eagle, similar to the Star. The ribbon has a central stripe of red with white and green stripes on either side.

The new awards will always be made with bars to indicate the specific service being recognized.

The first bars for new awards are:

• The ALLIED FORCE bar to the Star and awarded to aircrew who flew at least five sorties over enemy territory during Operation ALLIED FORCE from Mar. 24 to Jun. 10 1999. The ALLIED FORCE bar to the medal is awarded to those who provided direct support in Aviano and Vicenza for at least 30 days during operations. (Those who wish to receive the new Star or Medal will have to exchange their previously awarded NATO medal, to preclude dual recognition and conform to Canadian honours policy.)
• The ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) bar to the Star will be awarded to those who have served at least 30 days in Afghanistan as part of the Canadian contribution to ISAF. The ISAF bar to the Medal will be awarded to military members who provided direct support from outside Afghanistan, in locations such as Camp Mirage and Turkey for at least 90 days. Civilians eligible for recognition will be awarded the ISAF bar for 30 days in Afghanistan or 90 days service outside the theatre.

Each award will be engraved with the name, rank and service number of the recipient, thus making it more personal and significant. They will be available this autumn.

Mounting Service Medals

The Canadian Forces has changed its regulations to allow recently retired members who received medals just prior to retirement to have them formally mounted at public expense.

The medals should be taken to the nearest CF Base Supply. A CF Medal Entitlement Record needs to be signed by the commanding officer.

This is only for medals that were received for recent service in the forces. Out of service award of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002 does not qualify for this service.

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