Thomas Watkins/AFP/Getty Images
- The US military has a host of awards and medals for its service members.
- Some awards, like the Medal of Honor and the Silver and Bronze Star awards, are given to service members who display bravery in combat.
- Others are given for serving in specific operations or even missions — these are known as campaign awards.
- Depending on the medals a service member or veteran wears, it’s typically possible to determine which wars or regions of the world they have served in.
- Scroll through to see campaign awards for operations and missions since the Korean War.
Service in war time
Jim Barber/Shutterstock
The ISIS fight
Petty Officer 2nd Class Lyle Wilkie/Department of Defense
Service members who have supported Operation Inherent Resolve, the US mission in Syria to combat the Islamic State, are now eligible for a medal.
The medal was approved in 2016 — prior to that, service members who supported OIR were awarded the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary (GWOT-E) medal.
Global war on terror
Scott Olson/Getty Images
There are two different campaign awards for service in the US’s war against terror.
The GWOT Service medal is awarded to service members who serve in either a direct or indirect role in support of operations during the global war on terror, including personnel stateside who process paperwork for deployed troops.
The GWOT Expeditionary Medal, seen on the left, is more specific — service members must deploy for service in an anti-terrorism operation. Ground troops deployed to Somalia for over 30 days, for example, would qualify for this medal.
A service member who qualifies for the GWOT-E typically also qualifies for the service medal.
Read more: Trump’s Pentagon has expanded its secretive war on terror to 80 countries — here’s what we know
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The US Navy is honoring a barrier-bursting aviation pioneer with the 1st ever all-female flyover
- As the US moves towards troop withdrawal, the fate of Afghanistan may rest in the hands of these soldiers
- 51 years ago, Vietnamese forces launched the Tet Offensive and changed how America saw the Vietnam War
Source: Business Insider