General Service Medal (2008)

The General Service Medal 2008 (GSM 08), was introduced in 2015 for award to Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF personnel[1] to recognise specified operations since January 2008, not qualifying for another campaign medal. Unlike its predecessor, the General Service Medal (1962), operations will be denoted by clasps which indicate the geographic area of operations and not a specific operation. The first awards of the medal were made by Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon at a ceremony on 12 June 2016.[2]

General Service Medal (2008)
Obverse and reverse of the medal
Awarded by the United Kingdom
TypeCampaign medal
EligibilityBritish forces.
Awarded forCampaign service.
Campaign(s)Minor campaigns 2008–present
DescriptionSilver disk, 36 mm diameter.
Clasps
  • Southern Asia
  • Arabian Peninsula
  • Northern Africa
  • Western Africa
  • Eastern Africa
  • Gulf of Aden
Statistics
Established2015
First awarded12 June 2016
RelatedGeneral Service Medal (1918)
General Service Medal (1962)

Service ribbon of the medal

Appearance

The GSM 08 is a circular silver medal, 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter.
The obverse features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Elizabeth II, with the inscription ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA FID DEF.
The reverse bears a design featuring a figure of Britannia holding a trident standing ahead of a lion, symbolising Britain with, below, the inscription FOR CAMPAIGN SERVICE, with the whole encircled by an oak leaf wreath.[2]
The suspension bar is the same design as those of the GSM 1918–62 and GSM 1962, as are the colours of the 32 mm (1.26 in) wide ribbon, which is dark green with a purple stripe towards each edge.[1]

Clasps

The clasps for the medal are named based on the geographic region of operations and not for specific named operations.[2] The clasps and their qualifying periods of service are as follows:[3][4]

Southern Asia
  • Operation VERDITER (LEEWAY) (Pakistan), 1 January 2008–6 May 2015 EOD Short Term Training Team[5]
Arabian Peninsula
  • Operation QUANTAM, 1 January 2009–21 May 2012
  • Operation ICENI, 1 June 2012–2 December 2013
Northern Africa
  • Operation DEFERENCE (Libya), 21 February–22 March 2011
  • Operation VOCATE (Libya), 11 November 2011–present
Western Africa
Eastern Africa
Gulf of Aden

Service in a second or subsequent qualifying operation is reflected by an additional clasp added to the existing GSM medal, not by a second medal.[1]

It is expected that further operations and clasps will be added to the GSM as time progresses.[1]

Notes
  1. Awarded to Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel serving aboard HMS Daring during escort missions through the Gulf of Aden

References
  1. "Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility". Ministry of Defence Medal Office. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. "Defence Secretary awards new medal to 46 troops". GOV.UK. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  3. "UK Armed Forces Deaths: Operational deaths post World War II 3 September 1945 to 17 February 2016" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. 31 March 2016. p. 16. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  4. "JSP 761: Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. October 2016. p. 8A-4. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  5. "Minutes of the 122nd Meeting of the Management Committee of the Royal Engineers Association, 21st January 2015, Annex B." (PDF). Royal Engineers Association. 24 February 2016. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  6. "Naval officers honoured for role in Somalia". Royal Navy. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  7. "The Blythe Sappers Minutes of the 18th Annual Council Meeting 29th May 2013" (PDF). The Blythe Sappers. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  8. "Award for Royal Navy sailors who defied missile threat to protect merchant ships". Royal Navy. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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