The Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions (, ) is a military decoration of
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. It was established on 13 April 1993 and is awarded to military and civilian members of the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Armed Forces (; , ) are the combined national military forces of Belgium. The Monarchy of Belgium, King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium Belgian Rev ...
who participated in operations or missions outside of the territory of Belgium.
Insignia
The medal is circular and is struck from bronze, the
obverse
The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' ...
bears the Escutcheon-only version of the
Coat of arms of Belgium
The coat of arms of Belgium bears a Lion (heraldry), lion Or (heraldry), or, known as Leo Belgicus (Latin for ''the Belgian lion''), as its Charge (heraldry), charge. This is in accordance with article 193 (originally 125) of the Constitution of B ...
under the royal crown and surrounded by the text ''Missions ou opérations à l'étranger - Buitenlandse opdrachten of operaties''. The reverse of the medal bears a laurel crown along the outer circumference. The blank area within the wreath may be used to engrave the recipients' name and date of the award. The ribbon is golden with three thin longitudinal stripes of black, green and black near the outer edges.
The ribbon is adorned with an Arabic numeral that denotes the number of operations or missions the recipient has participated in. Prior to 2004, the various operations or missions the recipient had participated in were denoted by small bronze clasps bearing the name of the operation or mission like for the
Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations.
Award conditions
The Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions is awarded to military and civilian members of the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Armed Forces (; , ) are the combined national military forces of Belgium. The Monarchy of Belgium, King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium Belgian Rev ...
who participated in good standing, in humanitarian, peacekeeping, peace enforcement or international security operations or missions outside the territory of Belgium for a minimum duration of one month. The list of the operations for which the medal is awarded is included in a separate
Ministerial Decree
A ministerial decree or ministerial order is a decree by a ministry. With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are usually imposed under the authorit ...
(see references), which is amended on a regular basis.
As for the
Commemorative Medal for Armed Humanitarian Operations, Belgium does not award different medals for each operation. If a person participated in more than one such operation, they receive the Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operation or Mission for each of these operations, the number of award being represented by the number displayed on the ribbon.
The award of the medal is not automatic. In order to be awarded the medal, one meeting the award prerequisites must request it. The medal is awarded by the Human Resources Department of the
Belgian Armed Forces
The Belgian Armed Forces (; , ) are the combined national military forces of Belgium. The Monarchy of Belgium, King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium Belgian Rev ...
. In the period 2009-2013, the Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operation or Mission was awarded 12,659 times.
See also
*
Orders, decorations, and medals of Belgium
Belgium has established numerous orders of knighthood, decorations and medals since its creation in 1830.
Below is a list of those awards.
The order of precedence is difficult to establish as Belgium does not keep an up-to-date listing with dormant ...
References
* Royal Decree of 13 April 1993 Creating a Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operation or Mission
* Ministerial Decree of 29 June 1994 Defining the Missions and Operations Taken into Consideration for the Award of the Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operation or Mission
* Belgian military regulation DGHR-REG-DISPSYS-001 of 20 February 2006
* Quinot H., 1950, ''Recueil illustré des décorations belges et congolaises, 4e Edition.'' (Hasselt)
* Cornet R., 1982, ''Recueil des dispositions légales et réglementaires régissant les ordres nationaux belges. 2e Ed. N.pl''., (Brussels)
* Borné A.C., 1985, ''Distinctions honorifiques de la Belgique, 1830-1985'' (Brussels)
* Report of written questions and answers in the Belgian House of Representatives, 17 March 2014 (QRVA 53-152)
External links
Commemorative Medal for Foreign Operations or Missions
{{Belgium honours
1993 establishments in Belgium
Military awards and decorations of Belgium
Awards established in 1993