http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/04/military_c...medal_stars_041808w/

www.marinecorpstimes.com


Service members who have been on multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq are now eligible to wear campaign stars on their Afghanistan or Iraq campaign medals.

The Department of Defense approved on April 16 the wearing of campaign stars. Information on applying to wear the stars is pending.

One campaign star can be worn for participation in each of the campaign phases designated by DoD:

For Afghanistan, the phases are:

* Sept. 11, 2001 — Nov. 30, 2001

* Dec. 1, 2001 — Sept. 30, 2006

* Oct. 1, 2006 — To be determined

For Iraq, the phases are:

* March 19, 2003 — May 1, 2003

* May 2, 2003 — June 28, 2004

* June 29, 2004 — Dec. 15, 2005

* Dec. 16, 2005 — To be determined

The 3/16-inch diameter campaign stars can be worn on the campaign ribbon and the cloth suspension of the medal. The first four should be bronze; a Silver Star will be worn to signify five campaign stars.

To qualify for an Afghanistan or Iraq campaign medal, a troop must have been “assigned, attached or mobilized” to units working in the area of eligibility for 30 consecutive days 60 non-consecutive days. Those rules have not changed.

It only made sense to do this. The dates for each phase don't really make sense to me, but I'm sure that they make sense when you look at the OPORD for each phase.

Here is my best guess on why they chose the dates they did:


Invasion Phase
* Sept. 11, 2001 — Nov. 30, 2001


US led command
* Dec. 1, 2001 — Sept. 30, 2006

Nato takes responsibility
* Oct. 1, 2006 — To be determined

For Iraq, the phases are:

Invasion Phase
* March 19, 2003 — May 1, 2003

US Adminstrator in place until Paul Bremer hands over power to Iraqi's in june 04
* May 2, 2003 — June 28, 2004

Transition Iraqi government rule, elections held on Dec 15
* June 29, 2004 — Dec. 15, 2005

Day after Iraqi Elections to present
* Dec. 16, 2005 — To be determined

I'm not 100% sure on the A-stan stuff but pretty sure on the iraq dates.

So If I went to Iraq twice I can add a Star on that ribbon?....Damn, I might need to reenlist for the afghanistan one

It is good to see that our "higher command" is doing the right thing. It just took some time.

I think that they should allow stars based on # of months in theater- not "phases" or whatever. I'd say rotations, but with rotations lasting from 4-15 months, that doesnt make sense.

nah, no reason to.

phases are just fine....simpler.

either you had 30 days in a single timeframe or not.

if you were there longer than that will eventually come out on your chest.....

So would a guy like me get a star?

I'm sure...at least one..I think the medals will now be required to be worn with at least ONE (1) star.

When the official reg comes out that is...not yet, but soon.

So it would seem that a guy with a typical 12-month rotation that went from mid-2005 to mid-2006 would be eligible for two stars, regardless of the fact that he only did one rotation. And a guy that served two months--Dec 2005 to Jan 2006--could be eligible for two campaign stars as well.

Regardless of how it is implemented, I think the service stars for the ICM and ACM should have come around a while ago--kind of like the service stars worn on many of our past campaign service medals, i.e. Kosovo, SWA, Vietnam, WWII, and WWI. I think they should do the same for the GWOT-EM, and I'd have said the same for the GWOT-SM if they hadn't started awarding it to everyone.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BronzeGoat,

GWOT-EM stars would be good for each eligible country served in.

If one county=medal
two countries=1 medal w/1 star
three countries=1 medal w/1 stars

etc...

The campaigns have been published by name in the newest Army Times.

And you can find the names of the different phases here as well:

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=11848

So essentially I would be entitled to wear three service stars atop the ribbon even though I only deployed twice because my first deployment spans two of the different phases.

What if a soldier arrived in theater on December 14, 2005 and returned home December 2006. They would be entitled to two service stars correct? There is no minimum time period required in order to qualify for a service star right? Unlike the awarding of the ACM or ICM which requires 30 days.

30 days for a service star.

When the tour crosses two timeframes...30 days in each timeframe to qualify.

quote:

Originally posted by FormerEmbassyMarine:
30 days for a service star.

When the tour crosses two timeframes...30 days in each timeframe to qualify.

Is that a suggestion? If not, I disagree. There are no time-per-campaign requirements in 600-8-22 or 670-1; a day in any campaign period is enough - just like SSI-FWTS and NDSM periods.

It's confusing. It requires 30 days to qualify for the medal (to include a campaign credit) so I would believe it requires 30 days in each campaign to qualify for another star.

I'm reading these more as subsequent awards of the same medal (you need another 30+ days to qualify), instead of pulse awards like NDSM and even SSI-FWTS. They don't require any campaigns whatsoever. They just require being present for duty in the designated time.

Last time this was an issue it was in Vietnam. Maybe a Vietnam vet can explain how they did the Battle Stars on the VCM.

As defined in AR600-8-22 para6-8a,
"Service stars are worn on campaign and service medals to denote participation in a named campaign (for example, Southwest Asia Service Medal) and on the service ribbons to denote an additional award (for example the National Defense Service Medal). The service star is a bronze or silver five-pointed star 3/16-inch in diameter. A silver star is worn instead of five bronze service stars...."

Campaign stars do not indicate additional awards. For campaign medals there are no additional awards, you either have one or you don't (unlike expeditionary or service medals). SW Asia had the same thing, three stars - Defense of Saudi Arabia 2AUG90-16JAN91, Liberation & Defense of Kuwait 17JAN91-11APR91, and SW Asia Cease Fire 12APR91-30NOV95. If you were there from 16 JAN 1991 to 12 APR 91, you get all three, even though you only have a day in the first and third period.
Even in Vietnam there were varying lengths of campaigns (17 in all) between the official dates (15MAR62-28JAN73) So two vietnam vets, each with 365 in country, can have different number of stars depending on their exact tour dates.
Multiple tours like those returning to Iraq are not new either. Multiple trips to Vietnam, Korea, and WWII were not specifically recognized by another campaign medal or specical device on them either, you just received more campaign credit. (Afterall, time overseas is indicated by your overseas service stripes). The big difference is that the campaigns are so long right now that 2 deployments can fall within a single campaign. (See Table B-1 in AR600-8-22)

I can't wait for the regs to come out.....

to get the two stars for the Kosovo Campaign medal a member had to do at least 30 days in each timeframe.

AR-600-8-22
2–15. Kosovo Campaign Medal

quote:

quote:

c. One bronze service star will be worn on the suspension and service ribbon of the Kosovo Campaign Medal for participation in each campaign (Kosovo Air Campaign and Kosovo Defense Campaign). Qualification for a second bronze service star requires meeting the criteria for both campaigns. The 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days that begin during the Air Campaign and continues into the Defense Campaign entitles a member to only one bronze service star.

Thats how I read it...they would need two 30 day periods in each campaign to receive the stars....I got one campaign star for 30 days, hence I would need an additional 30 days for a second campaign.

I see your point. Since that is listed under the paragraph for the KCM and identifies those specific campaigns, I would interpret that rule as being particular to that Medal and not for Campaign Stars in general.