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Afghan Medals Process (merged)

CANFORGEN 066/10 has been released with further details.

Of interest:

THE CF AND THE GOVT OF CANADA ARE COMMITTED TO HONOURING AND RECOGNIZING THE VALUED CONTRIBUTION OF SAILORS, SOLDIERS, AIR MEN AND WOMEN OF THE CF. MORE IMPROVEMENTS TO OVERSEAS RECOGNITION ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING RECOGNITION OF OPS SCULPTURE, HALO, AUGURAL, PROTEUS AND HESTIA WILL BE FORTHCOMING
 
Vern: 6 years, but hey, who's counting?  After all, look at these three little words:
"WILL BE FORTHCOMING"

No timeline given.  Not even a word such as "SHORTLY', or whatever.  Hell, my great great great grandkids may get the decoration


Sorry, Six years has taught me to not believe it until it's pinned to my spoon-like chest.
 
Technoviking said:
Vern: 6 years, but hey, who's counting?  After all, look at these three little words:
"WILL BE FORTHCOMING"

No timeline given.  Not even a word such as "SHORTLY', or whatever.  Hell, my great great great grandkids may get the decoration


Sorry, Six years has taught me to not believe it until it's pinned to my spoon-like chest.

Actually, my 7 years didn't refer to Op Halo.

But, I'm going to revise my timeline anyway ... being that the first personnel who participated on On Sculpture deployed in 2000!!

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=3132

Make 'er 10 frickin' years ... that's pretty sad if I say so myself.

Canada’s military contribution to this British-led international military advisory and training initiative and CF members began serving with IMATT in Sierra Leone in November 2000
 
Technoviking said:
:-[

My bad.  I forgot that for a moment...

That's OK; I realize that the world rotates around the Technoviking.  Perhaps where you went wrong was in not "demanding the compliance of DHH" years ago; so, it's all your fault.  >:D
 
ArmyVern said:
That's OK; I realize that the world rotates around the Technoviking.  Perhaps where you went wrong was in not "demanding the compliance of DHH" years ago; so, it's all your fault.  >:D
Fault...Credit.  All I know is this:

TECHNOVIKING IS PLEASED! ;D
 
Technoviking said:
No timeline given.  Not even a word such as "SHORTLY', or whatever.  Hell, my great great great grandkids may get the decoration

Hyperbole!  Look, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea was established in 1991, only forty-one years after the first deployment.  It probably seemed like only yesterday for those who got it.  Grand-kids, or Great Grand-kids but really, I think you'll get it before the fifth generation.  Maybe.
 
Technoviking said:
No.  The revision date of that web page was 26 October 2007.  From the MND's news release:
Quote
"With the addition of rotation bars, mission bars will no longer be worn on the GCS and GSM"

I am putting together a shadow box with medals from TF 1-06 and didn't realize the regs changed. Currently there is a SWASM with Afg bar and a GCS-SWA with the ISAF bar and a couple other medals that will be mounted (all from the same tour).
From reading through the honours and awards site and this thread I think all I need to do to comply with the new regs is have the ISAF bar removed, but seeing as these are not my medals (and they are for a memorial shadow box, not for wear in uniform) I want to be really sure I have it right before I change anything.
Thanks in advance for confirmation/help!

tm
 
Technoviking said:
Vern: 6 years, but hey, who's counting?  After all, look at these three little words:
"WILL BE FORTHCOMING"

No timeline given.  Not even a word such as "SHORTLY', or whatever.  Hell, my great great great grandkids may get the decoration

Sorry, Six years has taught me to not believe it until it's pinned to my spoon-like chest.

The Canada General Service Medal, covering the Fenian Raids in 1866 and 1870, and Red River 1870, wasn't authorized until 1899. And soldiers had to be around to apply for their medals.

You're not even close to being in the complaint zone yet. ;)
 
I am a bit confused about the new policy.

Does this mean that, for example, if a soldier deployed to Kandahar he would get the General Campaign Star with the ribbon for ISAF, then 4 years later, deployed to another combat zone similar to Afghanistan in that we are actually fighting again, would he then get another General Campaign Star with a new coloured ribbon, i.e. he now has two medals?  Or would he just get a new bar for his existing medal?
 
CanForceOfficer said:
I am a bit confused about the new policy.

Does this mean that, for example, if a soldier deployed to Kandahar he would get the General Campaign Star with the ribbon for ISAF, then 4 years later, deployed to another combat zone similar to Afghanistan in that we are actually fighting again, would he then get another General Campaign Star with a new coloured ribbon, i.e. he now has two medals?  Or would he just get a new bar for his existing medal?

New mission = new ribbon w/ new star/medal (AOR dependant)
 
Trust No One said:
Hyperbole!  Look, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea was established in 1991, only forty-one years after the first deployment.  It probably seemed like only yesterday for those who got it.  Grand-kids, or Great Grand-kids but really, I think you'll get it before the fifth generation.  Maybe.

They at least got their United Nations medal for Korea long before the CVSMK was established, where OP HALO personnel weren't given anything save a CPSM if they didn't already have it, even the ones that were there under the MINUSTAH mandate.

The Fenian Raid/Red River CGSM is probably a better comparison  ;).

MM 
 
Here is the CANFORGEN.  I find it actually makes more sense than the press release.  ie: medals will be issued as UN medals are and the 180  days gets explained clearer here.

UNCLAS CANFORGEN 066/10 CMP 030/10
SIC WAK
SECTION 1 OF 2
SUBJ: NEW OVERSEAS RECOGNITION FRAMEWORK
REF:  CANFORGEN 166/07 CMP 071/07 161430Z NOV 07
BILINGUAL MESSAGE/MESSAGE BILINGUE

1. IN RECENT YEARS, SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE FRAMEWORK TO HONOUR AND RECOGNIZE THE SERVICE OF CF PERSONNEL. THESE CHANGES ARE THE FOLLOWING:

A. THE MODERNIZATION OF THE MEMORIAL CROSS AND THE REINTRODUCTION OF THE MEMORIAL SCROLL AND MEMORIAL BAR

B. THE SIMPLIFICATION OF THE NOMINATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS FOR INDIVIDUAL HONOURS WHICH HAS RESULTED IN MORE TIMELY RECOGNITION

C. THE CREATION OF NEW MEDALS SUCH AS THE SOUTH-WEST ASIA SERVICE MEDAL (SWASM), THE GENERAL CAMPAIGN STAR (GCS), AND THE GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL (GSM) TO RECOGNIZE SERVICE PERFORMED AS PART OF THE ONGOING CAMPAIGN AGAINST TERRORISM

D. THE CREATION OF THE SACRIFICE MEDAL TO HONOUR PERSONNEL WOUNDED IN ACTION IN THE SERVICE OF CANADA AND TO RECOGNIZE ALL SERVICE-RELATED DEATHS


2. IN ADDITION TO THESE NEW INITIATIVES, A MAJOR REVIEW WAS UNDERTAKEN TO SIMPLIFY AND STANDARDIZE OVERSEAS SERVICE RECOGNITION FOR CF MEMBERS AND MEMBERS OF THE DEFENCE TEAM. IN CONDUCTING THIS
REVIEW, TIME WAS TAKEN TO SAFEGUARD THE INTEGRITY OF THE CANADIAN HONOURS SYSTEM AND MAINTAIN THE SIGNIFICANCE AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSSOCIATED MEDALS. SPECIFIC FEEDBACK RECEIVED BY THE CHAIN OF
COMMAND AND FROM SAILORS, SOLDIERS, AIR MEN AND WOMEN, INDICATED THAT THERE WERE GAPS IN THE RECOGNITION SYSTEM FOR OVERSEAS SERVICE


3. THE GOVERNMENT HONOURS POLICY COMMITTEE ACCEPTED RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THIS PROCESS, AND I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA HAS APPROVED A NEW OVERSEAS RECOGNITION
FRAMEWORK. THIS FRAMEWORK REPRESENTS A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN HOW PERSONNEL WILL BE RECOGNIZED AND CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING GENERAL PRINCIPLES:

A. RECOGNITION WILL NOW BE THEATRE BASED RATHER THAN MISSION SPECIFIC. THIS MEANS THAT ALL SERVICE IN A DESIGNATED THEATRE WHICH IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY ANOTHER MEDAL (SUCH AS UN OR NATO) WILL BE
ELIGIBLE FOR RECOGNITION

B. OVERSEAS SERVICE WILL NOW BE RECOGNIZED WITH A DISTINCT RIBBON FOR EACH SEPARATE THEATRE ON THE GCS AND GSM RATHER THAN WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF BARS INDICATING MISSIONS (SUCH AS QUOTE ALLIED
FORCE UNQUOTE AND QUOTE ISAF UNQUOTE). THIS APPROACH IS SIMILAR TO THE UN SYSTEM WHICH UTILIZES A GENERIC MEDAL WITH VARIOUS DISTINTIVE RIBBONS. THIS MEANS THAT THERE WILL BE A RE-ALIGNMENT AND CHANGES IN THE CURRENT RIBBONS AND INSIGNIA UTILIZED WITH THE SWASM, GCS AND GSM. THE CHANGES WILL REFLECT A QUOTE ONE-MEDAL DIFFERENT-RIBBON UNQUOTE APPROACH

C. THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS REQUIRED FOR SOMEONE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SWASM, GCS, AND GSM HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A COMMON 30 DAYS, APPLICABLE TO BOTH MILITARY PERSONNEL AND CIVILIAN MEMBERS OF THE
DEFENCE TEAM

D. MULTIPLE TOURS TO THE SAME THEATRE WILL BE RECOGNIZED. RECIPIENTS OF THE SWASM WITH AFGHANISTAN BAR, THE GCS AND THE GSM MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR NEW MULTIPLE ROTATION RECOGNITION IN THE FORM OF
ROTATION BARS. ROTATION BARS WILL BE AWARDED FOR EACH ADDITIONAL PERIOD OF 180 DAYS OF ELIGIBLE SERVICE FOLLOWING MEDAL QUALIFICATION. THIS MEANS THAT AFTER 30 DAYS SERVICE, AN INDIVIDUAL
WILL HAVED EARNED A MEDAL (SWASM WITH AFGHANISTAN BAR, GCS OR GSM) WITH THE FIRST ROTATION BAR AWARDED AFTER 210 DAYS IN THEATRE, THE SECOND BAR AFTER 390 DAYS, AND SO ON. ALL THEATRE TIME IS CUMULATIVE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ROTATION BAR ELIGIBILITY


4. THIS IS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF CANFORGENS DESCRIBING THE NEW OVERSEAS RECOGNITION FRAMEWORK. SUBSEQUENT CANFORGENS WILL PROVIDE SPECIFIC AMENDMENTS TO THE SWASM, THE GSC, AND THE GSM


5. THE CF AND THE GOVT OF CANADA ARE COMMITTED TO HONOURING AND RECOGNIZING THE VALUED CONTRIBUTION OF SAILORS, SOLDIERS, AIR MEN AND WOMEN OF THE CF. MORE IMPROVEMENTS TO OVERSEAS RECOGNITION ARE UNDER CONSIDERATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS REGARDING RECOGNITION OF OPS
SCULPTURE, HALO, AUGURAL, PROTEUS AND HESTIA WILL BE FORTHCOMING


6. FURTHER INFORMATION MAY BE FOUND ON THE DH R WEB SITE AT HTTP://HR.OTTAWA-HULL.MIL.CA/DHR-DDHR/ENG/HOME_E.ASP 7. SIGNED BY MGEN W. SEMIANIW, CMP

END OF ENGLISH TEXT / LE TEXTE FRANCAIS SUIT
 
The new way is better than what it has been for the last few years.  The possibility of only one medal and multiple bars for different tours to different theatres was wrong and I am happy it has been fixed.

Now, it is like the WW2 theatre medals like the France & Germany, Italy, or Africa Star (other than the word not actually being on the medal itself).  The "rack" of a current soldier doing multiple tours over his life will resemble the WW2 vet's rack though.  Who knows what the next one will be...the GCS with Eastern Europe ribbon or GCS with India/Pakistan ribbon...

Anyway, the part that is still left up for debate is the SWASM part, because before it was OEF = SWASM and ISAF = GCS.  Some lucky tours like the four-month one in fall 05 that moved the camp from Kabul to Kandahar got both.

What is now open is that they have stated it is now theatre-based instead of command based, so logically the giant bulk of the bell curve who have been in Afghanistan (not counting the stange positions) would get both.  It's an operation in SWA against terrorism in the defined dates, and no longer involves OEF or ISAF command, so the way I read it all (conventional) tours get both, which begs the question why have two?

The way the new criteria is written up, just about everyone would qualify for the GCS or GSM, so why even have the SWASM?  If it exists for a very small amount of people who didn't otherwise qualify for the GCS/GSM, then what do you do with the people who have already been awarded the SWASM for doing basically the same thing as people who got the GCS? (Thinking deployed battlegroup-types here).

I can't see how you can look at a guy who did a tour in 2003 and got the SWASM and give him a GCS now without looking at the guys who did the bulk of the fighting in 2006-2010 and having them only get one medal.

It's not a matter of being a medal hunter, but now that it is mixed up the way it is, I just can't see how they can possibly do it fairly without giving both to everyone who had a conventional tour.
 
Take a look at the link...and the DHR sit "Medal Chart"...What actually happened is...
What you got up to 31 Jul 09 ...You got...You can add "tour bars" to either as they apply and for that reason they have changed the "Afghanistan" bar undress ribbon device to a shield with three leaves and deleted the ISAF bar (and the others) for the GCS and GCM.

From 1 Aug 09 on ONLY the GCS SWA is issued to any CF member in theatre (in or out of the ISAF framework).

The two medals thing that everybody heard as Gen Rick made his way through SWA and town halls  died...This is the new system...One theatre and one medal...multiple tours recognized.  You are right about the one group that ended up with two medals for one tour but I guess they just decided it was too big a mountain to climb without looking at options that would only cause more problems. 

At the end of the day...despite what some may think the medals are designed to reward you and when you look at them they have to mean something to you more than a display of your UER on your chest...Worrying about whether somebody else got just doesn't get you anywhere...Pro Patria
 
Petamocto said:
The new way is better than what it has been for the last few years.  The possibility of only one medal and multiple bars for different tours to different theatres was wrong and I am happy it has been fixed.

Now, it is like the WW2 theatre medals like the France & Germany, Italy, or Africa Star (other than the word not actually being on the medal itself).  The "rack" of a current soldier doing multiple tours over his life will resemble the WW2 vet's rack though.  Who knows what the next one will be...the GCS with Eastern Europe ribbon or GCS with India/Pakistan ribbon...

Anyway, the part that is still left up for debate is the SWASM part, because before it was OEF = SWASM and ISAF = GCS.  Some lucky tours like the four-month one in fall 05 that moved the camp from Kabul to Kandahar got both.

What is now open is that they have stated it is now theatre-based instead of command based, so logically the giant bulk of the bell curve who have been in Afghanistan (not counting the stange positions) would get both.  It's an operation in SWA against terrorism in the defined dates, and no longer involves OEF or ISAF command, so the way I read it all (conventional) tours get both, which begs the question why have two?

The way the new criteria is written up, just about everyone would qualify for the GCS or GSM, so why even have the SWASM?  If it exists for a very small amount of people who didn't otherwise qualify for the GCS/GSM, then what do you do with the people who have already been awarded the SWASM for doing basically the same thing as people who got the GCS? (Thinking deployed battlegroup-types here).

I can't see how you can look at a guy who did a tour in 2003 and got the SWASM and give him a GCS now without looking at the guys who did the bulk of the fighting in 2006-2010 and having them only get one medal.

It's not a matter of being a medal hunter, but now that it is mixed up the way it is, I just can't see how they can possibly do it fairly without giving both to everyone who had a conventional tour.

Potentially just take back the SWASMs for 'boots in the sand', to be replaced with a GCS?
 
Petamocto said:
Anyway, the part that is still left up for debate is the SWASM part, because before it was OEF = SWASM and ISAF = GCS.  Some lucky tours like the four-month one in fall 05 that moved the camp from Kabul to Kandahar got both.
Minor correction.  It was only a four month tour for some people.  Those people did not go to Kandahar and did not receive the SWASM.
 
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