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New overseas service medal struck to honour troops, cops, civilians

OTTAWA — The Queen has authorized a new medal to recognize overseas service by members of the Forces, police officers and even civilians working for the government at foreign bases.

OTTAWA — The Queen has authorized a new medal to recognize overseas service by members of the Forces, police officers and even civilians working for the government at foreign bases.

The new honour is part of an overhaul of the country’s system of military recognition that began with the start of heavy combat in Afghanistan four years ago.

The Operational Services Medal is meant to address a growing number of complaints in the ranks about how soldiers are recognized for deployments in multiple countries and under various mandates over a number of years.

The new silver medal — with the profile of the Queen on one side and a map of the world on the other — comes with distinct ribbons that recognize service in different theatres, such as South-West Asia, Sierra Leone, Haiti and Sudan.

The Governor General will present the first of the new medals at ceremony at a later date.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay says the new honour means that all soldiers who leave home will get the recognition that they deserve.

Members of the Forces, police officers, members of an allied force, or Canadian civilians working for the federal government and under military authority, will be eligible for the award.

To qualify, they must have ”served in a theatre of operations, provided direct support on a full-time basis to operations conducted in such a theatre or served under dangerous circumstances outside Canada.”

Military policy advisers recommended the medal to help “simplify” a system that had become “confusing,” according to internal Defence Department reports obtained under Access to Information.

It was also created in part to deal with confusion and criticism among some soldiers and even their families, who felt certain deployments were overshadowed.

The circumstances of who gets recognition and when is often the subject of heated debate among those in uniform. There have been complaints that the regulations governing awards are arbitrary and even political.

For example, hundreds of soldiers who took part in the initial bloody battles of 2006 in Kandahar were denied a long-promised campaign star because they did not serve enough time under NATO command.

Instead, members of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry battle group, who spent most of their tour under U.S. command in Operation Enduring Freedom, were given the Southwest Asia Service Medal.

An outsider may not see much difference between the two medals, but front-line soldiers tend to covet the campaign star, with its International Security Force bar.

They see it as recognition that they’ve faced an enemy on the battlefield, unlike the Southwest Asia medal, which is awarded to shipboard crews and headquarters staff who’ve served at posts as far removed from Afghanistan as the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.

Unlike the United States, Canada has no specific award for combat soldiers. There are bravery medals for specific acts of heroism, including the newly minted Canadian Victoria Cross.

In the United States army, any soldier involved in a firefight with the enemy is entitled to wear what’s called the combat infantryman badge.