General Campaign Star – SOUTH-WEST ASIA (GCS-SWA)

Context

This general service award has been created as a means to recognize in a timelier manner those who provide direct support to operations in the presence of an armed enemy. Rather than creating a new honour for each new Canadian Forces operation as it arises, the General Campaign Star (GCS) and General Service Medal (GSM) – with their theatre or service specific ribbons – can be awarded in future to honour participation in any operation that meets the criteria provided that the service is not counted towards another service medal.

 

Eligibility & Criteria

The General Campaign Star (GCS) is awarded to members of the Canadian Forces and members of allied forces working with the Canadian Forces who deploy into a defined theatre of operations to take part in operations in the presence of an armed enemy.

The GCS is always issued with a ribbon specific to the theatre or type of service being recognized, and each ribbon has its own criteria.

24 April 2003 to 12 March 2014

Awarded to military personnel who served for at least least 30 cumulative days:

• with the Canadian contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan between 24 April 2003 and 31 July 2009, in the theatre of operations which consisted of the political boundaries and airspace of Afghanistan; and/or
• in the theatre of operations consisting of the political boundaries of Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and those parts of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea that are west of sixty-eight degrees East longitude and north of five degrees South latitude, as well as the airspace above those areas between 1 August 2009 and 12 March 2014, provided that the service is not counted towards another service medal.

13 March 2014 to present

Awarded to military personnel who served for at least 14 cumulative days:

• in the theatre of operations consisting of the political boundaries of Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, and those parts of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea that are west of sixty-eight degrees East longitude and north of five degrees South latitude, as well as the airspace above those areas from 13 March 2014 onward, provided that the service is not counted towards another service medal.

Personnel who have eligible service under the 24 April 2003 to 12 March 2014 criteria but did not meet the 30 day criteria, and also have eligible service under the 13 March 2014 onward criteria, shall be allowed to combine all the eligible days of service towards the minimum of 14 cumulative days of eligible service criteria.

The only members of allied forces eligible are those who serve in missions on behalf of Canada. They are usually exchange personnel who deploy with our units or personnel seconded to the CF specifically to serve in our missions. In all cases, they must be on the CFTPO filling a Canadian position, and they are usually assigned a CF service number. Foreign personnel working in concert with the CF or reporting to a Canadian superior in an international context are not eligible for Canadian service medals.

Service in South-West Asia between 11 September 2001 and 31 July 2009 which was not under the NATO-led ISAF is not eligible for this award but may be eligible for the South-West Asia Service Medal. See the page for this medal for further details.

Aircrew flying into the theatre accumulate one day of service for the first sortie flown on any day. Additional sorties flown on the same day receive no further credit.

The first and last days in theatre count as full days.

Technical Assistance Visits, Staff Inspection Visits, and Staff Assistance Visits in theatre will now be considered eligible service towards the GCS.

Certain other types of visits and inspections do not constitute qualifying service. Specifically, visits for the purpose of leadership, familiarization, ceremonial, or morale by civilian or military VIPs and other similar administrative activities are excluded from qualification.

Any person who dies or is evacuated because of injuries or medical reasons directly attributable to service is deemed to have satisfied the time criteria set out above. Any recipient of the Star who dies or is evacuated because of injuries or medical reasons directly attributable to service shall be credited the entire period the person would have served should the person have completed their tour of duty for the purpose of calculating eligibility towards Rotation Bars.

When a person meets the criteria for the GCS-SWA or a Bar to it and the GSM-SWA or a Bar to it within a period of 180 days, the person shall only be awarded the GCS or a Bar to it. In other words, one cannot earn both the GCS and the GSM for SWA (or bars to them) during a six-month period.

The Star and Rotation Bars shall be awarded for honourable service.

For more details, consult the Eligible Service List (accessible only on the Government of Canada network).

Description

The GCS is a gold-coloured four-pointed star, 44 mm across, representing the cardinal points of a compass bearing on the obverse, built-up in order from the back: a wreath of maple leaves terminating at the top with the Royal Crown, two crossed swords, the blades and hilts forming four additional points to the star, an anchor, and a flying eagle.

The wreath represents honour; the maple leaves represent Canada; the anchor, crossed swords, and eagle represent the three services of the Canadian Forces; and the Crown represents the King of Canada and his role as the fount of all honours. On the reverse appear within a raised circle, from top to bottom: the Royal Cypher ensigned by the Royal Crown, a plain space for engraving, and three maple leaves on one stem.

The Star is engraved on the reverse with the service number, abbreviated substantive rank, initials, and name of the recipient.

The ribbon passes through a ring attached to a small ball at the top point of the star.

The ribbon is 32 mm wide with a central stripe of green (12 mm), on either side of which are stripes of white (2 mm) and red (8 mm). Red and white are the official colours of Canada as appointed by King George V in 1921 and green represents service.

The rotations bars for the Star are gold in colour with a raised edge and bear either one or five maples leaves.

Bar(s)

Rotation bars have been created to recognize long periods of service in a theatre.

Recipients of the GCS may be awarded a first Rotation Bar after a total of 210 days of eligible service, including the days taken into account for the award of the original medal, and additional bars are awarded for each subsequent period of 180 days.

One bar bearing five maple leaves is worn in lieu of five bars bearing one maple leaf.

Wearing

The GCS-SWA shall be worn in the sequence prescribed in the Canadian Orders, Decorations and Medals Directive, and in the following manner:

• On the left breast, suspended from the ribbon described above, between the General Campaign Star with ALLIED FORCE ribbon and the General Campaign Star with EXPEDITION ribbon;
• One bar is worn centered on the ribbon;
• If multiple bars have been awarded, they shall be evenly spaced on the ribbon in the order earned, with the first bar earned worn the closest to the Star; and
• When the undress ribbon is worn, a silver maple leaf shall be worn centered on the ribbon of the Medal to indicate the award of a Rotation Bar, a gold maple leaf shall be worn to indicate the award of a second Rotation Bar and a red maple leaf shall be worn to indicate the award of a third Rotation Bar. If more than three Rotation Bars have been awarded, those devices shall be worn in combination so as to indicate the total number of Bars awarded.

Postnominals

The use of a post-nominal is not authorized for this medal.

Historical Notes

The GCS and GSM were created by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in March 2004. Initially the medals were issued each with only one ribbon (those currently used for South-West Asia) with bars specifying the operation being recognized. Two bars were created, namely ALLIED FORCE and ISAF+FIAS.

The inaugural ceremony took place on 29 November 2004 in the ballroom of Rideau Hall in Ottawa. On this occasion, Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, CC, CMM, COM, CD, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, presented the Star to 28 representative recipients (8 with ALLIED FORCE bar and 20 with ISAF+FIAS bar), including the families of three of the casualties listed above. The first presentations of the General Service Medal were also made during that event.

In 2009, the GCS and GSM were modified so that the existing bars were abolished, being replaced with theatre or service-specific ribbons, thus allowing the use of bars to recognize multiple rotations where appropriate. As a result, recipients of the original GCS with ISAF+FIAS bar must have their medal remounted without the bar but using the same ribbon. The ISAF+FIAS bars shall be returned to DH&R. Moreover, because the provision that no one could earn both the GCS and the GSM for ISAF service has been modified, some recipients who had to relinquish their GSM in order to receive the GCS will be able to claim it back provided they did not meet the criteria for both awards within the same period of six months.

Captain Carl Gauthier of the Directorate of History and Heritage, DND, designed the award. The Canadian Heraldic Authority at the Chancellery of Honours, Rideau Hall, completed the final artwork.

As of 31 December 2023,  32,658 awards have been made.

The following is a list of Canadian Forces members who have died while performing service eligible for this award:

• Allard J.P.G.M. Cpl
• Anderson J. Cpl
• Arnal J.H. Cpl
• Arndt R.F. MCpl
• Arnold G.H. Cpl
• Audet P.Y. MCpl
• Baker J.C. Cpl
• Bartsch C.D. Cpl
• Bason C.S.F. MCpl
• Beauchamp N.R. Cpl
• Beerenfenger R.C. Cpl
• Blais K.M.N. Cpl
• Blake C. PO2
• Bobbitt C. Cpl
• Bouthillier J. Pte
• Bouzane S.F. Cpl
• Boyes J.G. Lt
• Boyes J.J. Sgt
• Braun D.R. Cpl
• Brown D.R. WO
• Bulger N.A. Cpl
• Byers D.R.J. Pte
• Caswell D.J. Pte
• Chidley G.W. Pte
• Collier B.J. Pte
• Costall R.H. Pte
• Courcy S.J.G. Pte
• Couturier J.J.S. Cpl
• Crooks T.K.G. Pte
• Curwin J.M.R. Pte
• Cushley W.J.J. Pte
• Dallaire K.Y.R. Pte
• Dawe M.J. Capt
• Diab M.H. Pte
• Dion J.J. Pte
• Diplaros D. Pte
• Doyle E.M. MCpl
• Drouin J.F. Cpl
• Dubé J.R.M. Cpl
• Duchesne C.J.T.A MCpl
• Eades S.A. Sgt
• Eykelenboom A.J. Cpl
• Faught J. Sgt
• Fitzpatrick D.J. Cpl
• Fortin J.D.O. Cpl
• Francis J.C. Capt
• Freeman M.B. Pte
• Giesebrecht K. MCpl
• Gillam C.P. Sgt
• Girouard R.M.J. CWO
• Gonthier J.F.E. Pte
• Good B.R. Pte
• Goudreault M. Sgt
• Graham M.A. Pte
• Greenfield S.D. Pte
• Greenslade D.R. Pte
• Greff B.G. MCpl
• Grenon A.P. Cpl
• Hamilton T.J. Cpl
• Hayakaze M.Y. Pte
• Hayes C.J. Pte
• Horn C.J. Pte
• Hornburg N. Cpl
• Ingram V. Sgt
• Joannette M.M. Cpl
• Jones J.P. Pte
• Karigiannis C. Sgt
• Keating S.P. Cpl
• Keller B.J. Cpl
• Kennedy K.V. Pte
• Klukie J.J. Pte
• Kruse G.J. Sgt
• Labbé E.B. Pte
• Leary R.S. Capt
• Levesque M. Pte
• Longtin J.M.S.S. Pte
• Lormand P.J. Pte
• Lucas D.J. Sgt
• MacNeil J. Sgt
• Marshall S.J. Pte
• Martin J.L.S. Cpl
• Massouh H. WO
• McCormack Z. Cpl
• McCully M.J.C. Cpl
• McKay K.T. Pte
• McLaren M.R. Cpl
• Megeney R.K. Cpl
• Mellish F.R. WO
• Mendes M.L. Maj
• Mercier J.C.M.M. MWO
• Michaud C.P. MCpl
• Miller A. Pte
• Miok G. Sgt
• Mitchell R.T.J. Cpl
• Morley K.I. Cpl
• Murphy J.B. Cpl
• Nolan R.F. WO
• Nuttall A.R. Lt
• O'Quinn K.C. Cpl
• Ouellet J. Cpl
• Parker G. Col
• Paul F.C. Capt
• Péloquin A.J. Pte
• Pentland P.J. Pte
• Pépin J.Y.F.S. Maj
• Pinksen B.N.C.R. Cpl
• Poland B.D. Cpl
• Priede D.J. MCpl
• Reid C.J. Cpl
• Renaud J.M.G.R Pte
• Roberge J.M.F.G. WO
• Roberts J.B. MCpl
• Ruckpaul R.M. Maj
• Rudd L. Pte
• Scherrer M.A.Y. Cpl
• Seggie M.J.A. Cpl
• Shipway P. Sgt
• Short R.A. Sgt
• Snyder J.S. Capt
• Stachnik S.H. Sgt
• Stannix C.P. Cpl
• Starker M.G. Cpl
• Stewart A.M.J. MCpl
• Stock S.J. Pte
• Storm A.H. Cpl
• Street T.J. Pte
• Taylor K. Sgt
• Tedford D.S. Sgt
• Todd T.W. Pte
• Vernelli S.F. MCpl
• Walsh J.S. MCpl
• Wasden D.R.R.J. Cpl
• Watkins L.W.T. Pte
• Wiebe J.V. Pte
• Williams A.E. Cpl
• Williamson B.N. Pte
• Wilmot C.W. Pte
• Wilson M.A. Pte
• Wilson R.J. WO