General Service Medal – SOUTH-WEST ASIA (GSM-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 (CF) 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 and criteria

The General Service Medal (GSM) is awarded to members of the CF and members of allied forces serving with the CF who deploy outside of Canada — but not necessarily into a theatre of operations — to provide direct support, on a full-time basis, to operations in the presence of an armed enemy.

The GSM may also be awarded, depending on the operation, to Canadian citizens other than members of the Canadian Forces who are deployed outside Canada, either inside or outside a theatre of operations, and working with the CF to provide direct support, on a full-time basis, to operations in the presence of an armed enemy.

The GSM 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 and Canadian civilians who served under the authority of the CAF either:

• in direct support of the Canadian participation to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan from outside the theatre of operations consisting of the political boundaries of Afghanistan and its airspace for at least 30 cumulative days between 24 April 2003 and 31 July 2009; and/or
• in direct support of the Canadian military operations provided from outside 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 for at least 30 cumulative days between 1 August 2009 and 12 March 2014;

Awarded to Canadian civilians who served under the authority of the CAF either:

• in direct support of Canadian participation to ISAF in Afghanistan while deployed inside the theatre of operations consisting of the political boundaries of Afghanistan and its airspace for at least 30 cumulative days between 24 April 2003 and 31 July 2009; and/or
• in direct support of the Canadian military operations while deployed inside 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 for at least 30 cumulative days between 1 August 2009 and 12 March 2014.

13 March 2014 to present

Awarded to military personnel and Canadian civilians who served under the authority of the CAF:

• in direct support of the Canadian military operations provided from outside 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 for at least 21 cumulative days from 13 March 2014 onward.

Awarded to Canadian civilians who served under the authority of the CAF:

• in direct support of the Canadian military operations while deployed 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 for at least 14 cumulative days from on 13 March 2014 onward.

Personnel who have eligible service outside the theatre of operations 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 12 March 2014 onward criteria, shall be allowed to combine all the eligible days of service towards the minimum of 21 cumulative days of eligible service criteria.

Canadian civilians who served under the authority of the CAF and who have eligible service in the theatre of operations 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 12 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.

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.

Other eligible service may be added to the eligibility list for the ribbon by the Chief of the Defence Staff in consultation with Armed Forces Council and on the recommendation of the Canadian Forces Honours Committee provided the service in question meets the basic criteria and intent of the medal as described in the regulations.

The only civilians eligible are Members of the Public Service working for the CF, Canadian civilians under contract with the CF and Canadian Police Officers serving under the authority of the CF in the locations and with the units described at the link below and between the dates indicated. Foreign civilians are not eligible for the GSM.

The only members of allied forces eligible are those who serve in Afghanistan on behalf of Canada. They are usually foreign exchange personnel who deploy with our units or personnel seconded to the CF specifically to serve in our mission. 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.

To be eligible to be awarded the Medal, direct support must be performed under exceptional circumstances and the person must have been deployed specifically to provide this support on a full-time basis to the operations. Only when there is a certain level of risk, threat, hardship or operational intensity can recognition be provided. Any support which is comparable in nature to normal duty or which is performed from the relative safety of a country distant from the theatre shall be excluded from eligibility.

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

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 Medal 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 Medal 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 GSM is a silver-coloured circular medal, 36 mm across, bearing on the obverse a contemporary effigy of the Sovereign of Canada, circumscribed with the inscription in capital letters of the Canadian Royal Title and the word "CANADA", separated by small crosses pattée. The crosses pattée represent military valour and merit. On the reverse are two crossed swords, an anchor, and a flying eagle superimposed on each other, the whole surrounded by two branches of maple leaves which form a wreath and surmounted by the Royal Crown. 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 as well as the effigy on the obverse represent the Sovereign of Canada and their role as the Fount of all honours.

A claw at the top of the medal is attached to a straight slotted bar. A central maple leaf overlapping two others ornaments this suspension.

The Medal is engraved on the edge with the service number, abbreviated substantive rank, initials, and surname of the recipient. Civilian recipients have only their name engraved on the Medal. The ribbon is 32 mm wide with a central stripe of red (18 mm), on either side of which are stripes of white (2 mm) and green (5 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 Medal are silver 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 GSM 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 GSM-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 Service Medal with ALLIED FORCE ribbon and the General Service Medal with EXPEDITION ribbon;
• One bar is worn centred 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 Medal; and
• When the undress ribbon is worn, a silver maple leaf shall be worn centred 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.

Post-nominals

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

Historical notes

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

• Cyr M.B.J.
• Downey B.A. Cpl

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 Medal to 17 representative recipients, 6 with ALLIED FORCE bar and 11 with ISAF+FIAS bar. The first presentations of the General Campaign Star 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 GSM 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, prepared the design. The Canadian Heraldic Authority at the Chancellery of Honours, Rideau Hall, completed the final artwork.

As of 31 December 2023,  5,876 awards have been made.