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Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
1. Description: On a bronze medal, 1 ¼
inches in diameter, an eagle, with wings addorsed and inverted,
standing on a sword loosened in its scabbard, and super- imposed on a
radiant compass rose of eight points, all within the circumscription
"ARMED FORCES" above and "EXPEDITIONARY SERVICE" below with a sprig of
laurel on each side. On the reverse is the shield from the United
States Coat of Arms above two laurel branches separated by a bullet,
all within the circumscription "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA".
2. Ribbon: The ribbon is 1 3/8 inches wide
and consists of the following stripes: 3/16 inch green 67129; 3/16
inch golden yellow 67104; 3/16 inch spicebrown 67196; 3/16 inch black
67138; 7/16 inch bluebird 67117; 1/8 inch ultramarine blue 67118; 1/8
inch white 67101; 1/8 inch scarlet; 7/16 inch bluebird; 3/16 inch
black; 3/16 inch spicebrown; 3/16 inch golden yellow; and 3/16 inch
green.
3. Background:
 | a. During the late 1950’s, it became apparent
that a medal was needed to recognize the services of the Armed
Forces who participated in the increased involvement of the American
military in peacekeeping activities. As a result, President Kennedy
established the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, per Executive
Order 10977, dated 4 December 1961, for operations on or after 1
July 1958.
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| b. In a memorandum dated 20 December 1961, the
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense requested that The Institute
of Heraldry submit proposed designs as soon as possible. Proposed
designs were submitted on 25 January 1962 and a design, created by
Mr. Jay Morris, was tentatively selected. The design was submitted
to the Commission of Fine Arts for comments prior to approval by the
Deputy Secretary of Defense on 24 April 1962.
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| c. The selected design uses the eagle to
represent the strength of our Armed Forces, and the sword, loose in
its scabbard, denotes the readiness to serve wherever needed, as
further suggested by the compass rose.
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| d. At the present time, JCS has designated 22
operations for which the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal may be
awarded. A bronze service star is worn to denote second and
subsequent awards of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Each
Service may authorize the use of campaign streamers for operations
in the designated areas. The Army has authorized campaign credit and
display of streamers for three areas: Grenada, Panama and the
Dominican Republic. The Air Force has authorized display of
streamers for all 22 operations. The Navy authorizes display of
three silver stars and four bronze stars on the streamer
representing 19 operations.
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| e. Order of precedence and wear policy for
service medals awarded to Army personnel is contained in Army
Regulation (AR) 670-1. Policy for awards, approving authority and
supply of medals is contained in AR 600-8-22. The policy for display
of campaign streamers on guidons/flags and supply of streamers is
contained in Chapter 9, AR 840-10 |
4. Areas of Service: The following service
areas have been designated for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal:
| Area |
Dates of Service |
| Lebanon |
1 Jul 58 - 1 Nov 58
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| Quemoy and Matsu Islands |
23 Aug 58 - 1 Jun 63
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| Taiwan Straits
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23 Aug 58 - 1 Jan 59 |
| Vietnam |
1 Jul 58 - 3 Jul 65
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| Congo |
14 Jul 60 - 1 Sep 62
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| Laos |
19 Apr 61 - 7 Oct 62
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| Berlin |
14 Aug 61 - 1 Jun 63
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| Cuba |
24 Oct 62 - 1 Jun 63
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| Cambodia |
29 Mar 73 - 15 Aug
73 |
| Thailand (Support of Cambodia)
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29 Mar 73 - 15 Aug
73 |
| Congo |
23 Nov 64 - 27 Nov
64 |
| Dominican Republic |
28 Apr 65 - 21 Sep
66 |
| Korea |
1 Oct 66 - 30 Jun 74
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| Cambodia |
11 Apr 75 - 13 Apr
75 |
| Vietnam |
29 Apr 75 - 30 Apr
75 |
| Mayaguez |
15 May 75
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| Grenada |
23 Oct 83 - 21 Nov
83 |
| Lebanon |
1 Jun 83 - 1 Dec 87
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| Libya |
12 Apr 86 - 17 Apr
86 |
| Persian Gulf |
24 Jul 87 - 1 Aug 90
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| Panama |
20 Dec 89 - 31 Jan
90 |
| Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq
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1 Dec 95 - TBD
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| Former Republic of Yugoslavia
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Pending |
5. Criteria:
| a. The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal may be
awarded to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who
after 1 July 1958 participate as members of U.S. military units in a
U.S. military operation in which service members of any Military
Department participate, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
(JCS), in significant numbers and encounter during such
participation foreign armed opposition, or are otherwise place in
such a position that in the opinion of the JCS, hostile action by
foreign armed forces was imminent even though it does not
materialize.
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| b. The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal may be
authorized for three categories of operations: U.S. military
operations; U.S. military operations in direct support of the United
Nations; and U.S. operations of assistance to friendly foreign
nations.
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| c. The medal shall be awarded only for operations
for which no other U.S. campaign medal is approved. |
6. Components: The following are authorized
components and related items:
| a. Medal (regular size): MIL-DTL-3943/230. NSN
8455-00-082-5638 for set which includes regular size medal and
ribbon bar.
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| b. Medal (miniature size): MIL-DTL-3946/230.
Available commercially.
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| c. Ribbon: MIL-DTL-11589/12. NSN
8455-00-082-2344.
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| d. Lapel Button: MIL-DTL-11484. Available
commercially.
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| e. Streamers: MIL-S-14650. Manual requisition in
accordance with AR 840-10. |
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