The Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan is a

campaign medal A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a h ...

previously awarded by the

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of the

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for service by

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...

personnel in support of the post-2001 Afghan War.

Operational Service Medal

The Operational Service Medal (OSM) was established in 1999 to replace the General Service Medal (1962) for all new operations. A separate medal of the same design is awarded for each campaign, differentiated by a distinct ribbon. It has been awarded for four separate campaigns: *Afghanistan (September 2001 – August 2021) * Sierra Leone (May 2000 – July 2002) * Democratic Republic of Congo (June – September 2003) * Iraq and Syria (''Dates to be confirmed'') From 2008, British service personnel could receive the General Service Medal (2008) for participation in smaller operations that do not justify the award of the Operational Service Medal.

Medal

The medal is silver and circular in shape and designed as follows: * The

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shows the crowned effigy of

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with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID. DEF.. * The reverse bears the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

, surrounded by the inscription FOR OPERATIONAL SERVICE and the four major points of the compass with, between the points, four

Coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...

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(top left),

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(

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

, top right),

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(

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, bottom left), and Astral (

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, bottom right).

Clasps

Clasps awarded with the medal are named either for geographical regions or for specific operations for which the medal is awarded. As of , two clasps have been authorised with the medal. ;Afghanistan The "Afghanistan" Clasp is awarded for service specifically in Afghanistan. The "Operation PITTING" Clasp is awarded for service in Afghanistan during

Operation Pitting Operation Pitting was a British military operation to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghans from Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban offensive. The operation consisted of more than 1,000 military personnel, including soldiers from ...

. A silver rosette on the ribbon denotes entitlement to each clasp when no medal is worn. There are four variants of the 'Afghanistan' clasps to date: *The first issue from 2002–2004 – the clasp had a smooth background behind the inscription. *From 2005 to date, from Operation Herrick onwards – the clasp has a 'dappled' effect behind the inscription, similar to the 'Northern Ireland' clasp on the General Service Medal 1962–2007. *During 2009, 1,000 medals were awarded with a third type of background. These were manufactured by Gladman & Norman Ltd under a one-off contract in response to increased demand. *From May 2018 a standard background was adopted by the MoD Medal Office, this background is used on all clasps produced since that date including Afghanistan. The medal was also awarded to UK civilians employed on Ministry of Defence contracts in support of the British Forces in Afghanistan. Qualifying criteria are the same as HM Forces. The recipient's name and title (Mr, Mrs etc.) are engraved on the edge of the medal, whereas the military recipients have their rank, name and service number. British Government contractors who worked in Afghanistan but who are ineligible for the Operational Service Medal may be entitled to the Civilian Service Medal (Afghanistan). ;Operation Pitting On 19th January 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced that the members of the Armed Forces who were deployed to Afghanistan in late 2021 in support of

would receive the OSM with the "Operation Pitting" clasp. Personnel already holding the Afghanistan OSM would receive the clasp to add to their existing medals.

Ribbon

The ribbon consists of a broad central red stripe, flanked each side by a stripe of navy blue and one of light blue, to represent the three services, with an outer stripe of light brown, to represent the Afghan landscape.

Qualifying criteria

The criteria for the award of the medal and the clasps are complex and depend on length and area of service: * Qualification for the medal without the clasp depended on service of varying lengths on operations, for example on operations Landman,

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and Damien. The medal without clasp can also be awarded for service outside Afghanistan that directly supports ongoing operations in Afghanistan including, at various times, service in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kenya, Diego Garcia, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. * To qualify for the ''Afghanistan'' clasp, personnel must have served continuously for either 5, 21, or 30 days, depending on the Operation participated in and the dates served. The principal operations were:

Operation Veritas Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. British forces played a supporting role to the American Operation Enduring Freedom. In addition, the British contributi ...

(11 September 2001 – 28 February 2002);

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Ass ...

(1 March 2002 – 31 December 2014);

Operation Fingal Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

(1 December 2001 – 20 September 2004); Operation Landman (11 September 2001 – 1 June 2004) and

Operation Toral Operation Toral was the codename for the British presence within Afghanistan post-2014 as part of NATO's Resolute Support Mission. UK forces had two major tasks: training and mentoring Afghan Forces, and providing force protection for NATO adv ...

(January 2015 to July 2021). *The qualifying period for the awarding of the ''Operation Pitting'' clasp is 5 days service or 3 air sorties within Afghanistan from the 14th of August to the 28th of August 2021, in support of Operation Pitting. There is no minimum qualifying period for those killed, wounded or disabled during operations, nor where a recipient has been decorated for operational service (including a

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or a Queen’s Commendation). Qualifying service for the Operational Service Medal counts towards the period required to receive the

Accumulated Campaign Service Medal The Accumulated Campaign Service Medal and the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal 2011 are medals awarded by King Charles III to members of his Armed Forces to recognise long campaign service. The original Accumulated Campaign Service Medal, inst ...

References

External links

* /www.gov.uk/medals-campaigns-descriptions-and-eligibility#afghanistan-operational-service-medal-formerly-the-osm-for-op-veritas Ministry of Defence - Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibilitybr>The Operational Service Medal, for service in Afghanistan from 11 September 2001
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Ministry of Defence - Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces. Part 1: Directive. (Version 5.0 Oct 16)
{{British campaign medals British campaign medals