Australian Service Medal

Australian Service Medal
Medal and ribbon
Type	Campaign Medal
Eligibility	Australian Defence Force personnel
Status	Currently awarded
Established	13 September1988
Precedence
Next (higher)	Australian Active Service Medal
Related	Australian Service Medal 1945-1975

The Australian Service Medal is an Australian military decoration. It was authorized 13 September1988 to recognise prescribed service in peacekeeping and non-warlike operations. It is awarded with a clasp to denote the prescribed operation and subsequent awards of the medal are made in the form of additional clasps.

The Australian Service Medal 1945-1975 recognises non-warlike service prior to February 1975.

Description

• The Australian Service Medal is a nickel-silver medal ensigned with the Crown of St Edward. The obverse features a modified shield of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms surmounted by the Australian Defence Force Joint Service emblem superimposed on meridians of longitude.
• The reverse of the medal shows clusters of mimosa blossoms surrounding a Federation Star with the inscription ‘For Service’.
• The medal ribbon has a central brown stripe symbolizing the earth. It is flanked by two stripes of dark green which in turn are flanked by stripes of light green, gold and silver-green

Clasps

• BALKANS - 30 days service with the United Nations or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in the Balkans region with effect from 25 January1997 - Present
• BOUGAINVILLE - 30 days service with the Truce Monitoring Group in Bougainville with effect from 20 November1997 - 26 August2003
• CAMBODIA - 30 days service in Cambodia from 8 October1993 - 4 October1999
• EAST TIMOR - 30 days service for:
  • Humanitarian (Operation Faber) 30 August1975 - 30 October1975
  • United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) 19 June1999 - 15 September1999
  • Operation Spitfire 6 September1999 - 19 September1999
  • Defence Cooperation Program 1 January2001 - 11 May2006
  • Operation Citadel 18 August2003 - 11 May2006
  • Operation Spire 20 May2004 - 11 May2006
  • Operation Chiron 20 May2005 - 11 May2006
• ETHIOPIA/ERITREA - 30 days service with Operation POMELO, United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) from 15 January2001 - Present
• GUATEMALA - 30 days service with the United Nations Operation in Guatemala with effect from 15 February1997 - 14 May1997
• GULF - 30 days service with the Royal Australian Navy activity in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman between 17 November1986 and 31 October1988; and the continuing mine countermeasures operations within the Persian Gulf between 1 November1988 and 28 February1989
• HAITI - 30 sorties or 30 days service on authorised third country deployments in Haiti from 1 July1994 - 30 June1996
• IRAN/IRAQ - 90 days service with the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG) from 12 August1988 - 28 February1991
• IRAQ - for:
  • 30 days service in southern Turkey and northern Iraq with the International Kurdish Relief Operation (Op Habitat) from 1 May1991 - 30 June1991
  • 7 days service within Iraq with the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq (Op Blazer) that from 1 May1991 - 30 June1998
  • 7 days service with the multinational military deployment in the Middle East (Op Pollard) for the period 15 February1998 - 30 June1998, and for 30 days service 1 July1998 - 1 October2001
  • 30 days service with authorised 3rd country deployments with UK and US Iraq/Persian Gulf Ops – imposing sanctions on Iraq from 16 July1991 - 1 October2001
• IRIAN JAYA - 30 days service on Operation Cendarawasih, between 1976 and 1981 (Survey Operations)
• KASHMIR - 90 days service with the United Nations Military Observers Group India/Pakistan (UNMOGIP) from 14 February1975 - Present
• KOREA - 30 days service with the United Nations Command (Military Armistice Commission) within the Demilitarised Zone between the Military Demarcation Line and the Republic of Korea boundary with effect from 14 February1975 - Present
• KUWAIT - Service with the Multinational Military Force in the Persian Gulf, from 2 August1990 - Present (except 17 January to 28 February - for which the Australian Active Service Medal is awarded).
• MIDDLE EAST - 30 days service from 14 February1975 - Present with:
  • the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO)
  • the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF)
  • the second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF II) - 31 July1979
  • the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from 1 March1978
  • RAN ships in North West Indian Ocean deployments from 1 September1980 - 31 July1986
• MOZAMBIQUE - 30 days service in Mozambique (Op Coracle) with effect from 12 July1994 - 31 March2002
• NAMIBIA - 90 days service with the United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) from 11 March1989. In October 2001, revised to be a bar to the Australian Active Service Medal, for which recipients could exchange this award.
• PESHAWAR - 90 days service with the United Nations Mine Clearance Training Team (UNMCTT) from 16 July1989 - Present
• RWANDA - 30 days service with the United Nations Operation in Rwanda with effect from 29 July1994. This award has been replaced by a clasp to the Australian Active Service Medal.
• SIERRA LEONE - 30 days service on Operation Husky, the International Military Advisory and Training Team (IMATT) from 15 January2001 - 28 February2003
• SINAI - 30 days service with the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai (MFO) between 9 February1982 and 28 April1986; and for Op Mazurka with effect from 6 January1993 - Present
• SOLOMON IS - 30 days service on Operation Trek, the International Peace Monitoring Team in the Solomon Islands from 04 November2000 - 15 March2002
• SOLOMON IS II - 30 days service on Operation Anode, the ADF contribution to RAMSI from 24 July2003 to Present
• SOMALIA - 30 days service with the First and Second United Nations Operations in Somalia (including activities associated with those operations in the areas extending 20 kilometres into Ethiopia and Kenya, 10 kilometres into Djibouti and 12 nautical miles into the territorial waters of Somalia) between 17 October1992 and 30 April1993
• SE ASIA - for 30 days service:
  • on land in Malaysia from 14 February1975 - 31 December1989
  • on land in Singapore from 14 February1975 - 30 April1975
  • on RAN ships with ANZUK force from 14 February1975 - 30 April1975
  • on land in Laos, Cambodia from 14 February1975 - 13 March1975
  • with ADF activities on Operation GADING 5 on Sumatra from 6 May1975 - 22 August1975
• SPECIAL OPS - For service after 1975 in certain special non-warlike Australian Defence Force operations as determined by the Chief of the Defence Force
• SUDAN - 30 days service on Operation Azure, United Nations Mission in Sudan from 10 April2005 - Present
• TIMOR-LESTE - for:
  • 7 days/sorties (12 May - 16 June 2006) or 30 days/sorties (10 June 2006 onwards) on Op Astute from 12 May2006 - Present
  • 30 days service as part of contributions as per 'EAST TIMOR' listed above from 12 May2006 - Present
• UGANDA - 90 days service with the Commonwealth Military Training Team Uganda (CMTTU) between 18 March1982 and 24 March1984
• VIETNAM 1975 - Service with the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
• WEST SAHARA - 30 days service in Western Sahara with effect from 5 September1991 - Present

See Also

• Australian Honours Order of Precedence
• Australian campaign medals

References

• It's an Honour Australian Government website
• ASM Clasps ADF website