| Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan |
|
| Awarded by United Kingdom | |
| Type | Military Campaign Medal |
| Eligibility | Members of the United Kingdom armed forces |
| Awarded for | Campaign service |
| Campaign | Afghanistan 2001-to date |
| Status | Currently awarded |
| Description | Silver disk, 36mm diameter. |
| Clasps |
|
| Statistics | |
| Established | 2003 |
The Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan is a campaign medal currently awarded by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom.
Contents |
The award of this medal is complex; depending on length and area of service:
The medal is silver and circular in shape and designed as follows:[3]
The "Afghanistan" Clasp is awarded for service specifically in Afghanistan. Rosette on ribbon denotes clasp when no medal is worn. There are two types of 'Afghanistan' clasps to date, the first initial issue from 2002–2004 the clasp had a smooth background behind the writing and from Op Herrick onwards (2005 to present) the clasp has a 'dappled' effect behind the writing, just like the 'Northern Ireland' clasp on the 1962–2007 General Service Medal. A third type of background can be found on 1000 medals awarded during 2009. These were manufactured by Gladman & Norman Ltd under a one-off contract to help with increased medal demand. The medal is issued without the clasp for service outside Afghanistan in support of ongoing operations, i.e. Pakistan and Oman.[4]
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.[5]