The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a military award recognizing 14 years of exemplary and unblemished service by non-commissioned and

other ranks Other ranks (ORs) in the Royal Marines (RM), the British Army, and the Royal Air Force (RAF), along with the navies, armies, and air forces of many other Commonwealth countries and Ireland, are those personnel who are not commissioned officers, bu ...

members of the

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; , "Line of Defence of New Zealand") is the three-branched military of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and its realm, promoting its interests, ...

. Established in 1985, these medals replaced the British Long Service and Good Conduct Medals with specific versions for New Zealand. There are three version of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, one each for the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

, and the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

Criteria

The Long Service and Good Conduct Medal may be awarded after 14 years of full-time service, or a combined 14 years of full-time service, in the Regular Force of the New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, and Royal New Zealand Air Force. A subsequent award of the medal, based upon the completion of an additional 14 years of qualifying service, is denoted by a

medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It most commonly indicates the Military campaign, campaign or Military operation, operation the recipient received t ...

or a

rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...

worn on the

service ribbon A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...

. During the period of qualifying service, only service members, "whose character and conduct have been irreproachable and who are recommended by their commanding officer." are eligible for the medal. Service which may be counted towards the award of the medal or clasp, is classified as follows: *Service in the Regular Force of the New Zealand Regular Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, or Regular Air Force of the Royal New Zealand or service in a regular and permanent force of a country of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

of which the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

is head of state, unless that service that has been recognised by the award of a long service award *For those individuals appointed to a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

in the New Zealand Defence Force, the qualifying service for the medal is 15 years, with 12 of those years in service as a non-commissioned officer *Those appointed to a commission in the Regular Forces of the New Zealand Defence Force who, before being appointed, have been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal of their service, the qualifying service for the award of a clasp shall be 15 years from the award of the medal. Of those 15 years, seven must have been in service as a non-commissioned officer *Service that is not full-time in nature in a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, territorial,

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

, or auxiliary force or other force of New Zealand or of any other country of the Commonwealth of which the Queen is head of state, does not count in the qualifying period of service for the medal. The exception to this is that the service in the force is required to be continuous service in an emergency and the member of the force actually serves full-time.

Appearance

;New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is circular in shape, made of silver. 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 crowned effigy of the Sovereign, surrounded by the inscription ''Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina F.D.'' The reverse is plain with the inscription in four lines ''For Long Service and Good Conduct''. The medal is suspended from a crimson ribbon edged in white, 32 mm in width. The medal attaches to the ribbon by an ornamental title bar bearing the words ''New Zealand'' in relief. ;Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is circular in shape, made of silver. The obverse of the medal bears the young uncrowned effigy of the Sovereign, surrounded by the inscription ''Elizabeth·II·Dei·Gratia·Regina·F:D:'' The reverse bears a representation of

HMS Victory HMS ''Victory'' is a 104-gun first-rate wooden sailing ship of the line. With years of service as of , she is the world's List of oldest surviving ships, oldest naval vessel still in Ship commissioning, commission. She was ordered for the Roy ...

, encircled by a rope, joined at the bottom in a

Reef knot The reef knot, or square knot, is an ancient and simple binding knot used to secure a rope or line around an object. It is sometimes also referred to as a Hercules knot or Heracles knot. The knot is formed by tying a left-handed overhand knot ...

. It is surrounded by the inscription ''For Long Service and Good Conduct''. The medal is suspended from a blue ribbon edged in white, 32 mm in width. The medal attaches to the ribbon by a straight hang bar. ;Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is circular in shape, made of silver. The obverse of the medal bears the young uncrowned effigy of the Sovereign, surrounded by the inscription ''Elizabeth·II·Dei·Gratia·Regina·F:D:'' The reverse depicts a stylized eagle in flight with spread wings, surmounted by the

tudor crown The Tudor Crown was a crown created in the early 16th century for either Henry VII of England, Henry VII or Henry VIII, the first House of Tudor, Tudor monarchs of Kingdom of England, England, and destroyed in 1649 during the English Civil War. ...

. Surrounding the eagle is the inscription ''For Long Service and Good Conduct''. The medal is suspended from a ribbon of equal stripes of blue and red, edged in white, 32 mm in width. The medal attaches to the ribbon by a curved ornamented bar.

References

External links

* *{{cite web, title=New Zealand Long Service and Good Conduct Medals - the Royal New Zealand Air Force Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, url=http://medals.nzdf.mil.nz/category/e/e5.html, work=medals.nzdf.mil.nz/ Medals Awarded to New Zealand Military Personnel, publisher=New Zealand Defence Force, access-date=23 January 2013 New Zealand Meritorious & Long Service Awards Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth

Criteria

Appearance

See also

References

External links