Establishing the Armed Forces Service Medal
Signed January 11, 1996·William J. Clinton·61 FR 1209
Source
Everything on this page is drawn from the Federal Register, the official daily journal of the United States government. Where this page and the source disagree, the source governs.
Plain-language summary
Establishes the Armed Forces Service Medal for members of the Armed Forces who, on or after June 1, 1992, participate in a designated significant U.S. military operation without encountering foreign armed opposition or imminent hostile action, as determined by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Directs the Secretary of Defense to approve the medal's design and, together with the Secretary of Transportation for the Coast Guard when not operating under the Navy, to award it under uniform regulations, placing it in order of precedence just before the Humanitarian Service Medal. The medal may only be awarded when no other U.S. service medal applies to the operation, and only one medal may go to any individual, though additional devices may mark later qualifying operations. The medal may also be awarded posthumously, presented to an appropriate representative of the deceased as determined by the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Transportation.
Not written or reviewed by a person. Read the full order below for anything you intend to rely on.
Report a problem with this summary
Legal standing
Not yet published. Court challenges, injunctions and rulings tied to individual orders will appear here once each can be linked to its source record.
Nothing appears in this space without a citation to a court action or a cited precedent. An order with no such record is described as untested, never as likely or unlikely to survive.
Claimed authority
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including my authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered
Quoted from the order as written. Many orders cite nothing more specific than “the Constitution and the laws”; this reproduces what the order claims, not an assessment of whether it holds.
Disposition
Amended by: EO 13286, February 28, 2003;; ; See: EO 13154, May 3, 2000
Compiled after the fact by the National Archives, so recent orders often have none yet. An empty disposition means no record, not no activity.
The order, in full
Executive Order 12985 of January 11, 1996
Establishing the Armed Forces Service Medal
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including my authority as Commander in Chief
of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby
ordered as follows:
Section 1. Establishment. There is hereby established
the Armed Forces Service Medal with accompanying
ribbons and appurtenances, for award to members of the
Armed Forces of the United States who, on or after June
1, 1992, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
(a) Participate, or have participated, as members of
United States military units in a United States
military operation in which personnel of any Armed
Force participate that is deemed to be significant
activity; and
(b) Encounter no foreign armed opposition or
imminent hostile action.
Sec. 2. Approval and Award. The medal, with ribbons and
appurtenances, shall be of an appropriate design
approved by the Secretary of Defense and shall be
awarded by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when
it is not operating as a service in the Navy, under
uniform regulations, as prescribed by the Secretary of
Defense. The regulations shall place the Armed Forces
Service Medal in an order of precedence immediately
before the Humanitarian Service Medal.
Sec. 3. Criteria. The medal shall be awarded only for
operations for which no other United States service
medal is approved. For operations in which personnel of
only one Military Department or the Coast Guard
participate, the medal shall be awarded only if there
is no other suitable award available to the department
or the Coast Guard. No more than one medal shall be
awarded to any one person, but for each succeeding
operation justifying such award a suitable device may
be awarded to be worn on the medal or ribbon as
prescribed by appropriate regulations.
Sec. 4. Posthumous Provision. The medal may be awarded
posthumously and, when so awarded, may be presented to
such representative of the deceased as may be deemed
appropriate by the Secretary of Defense or the
Secretary of Transportation.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 11, 1996.Reproduced from the Federal Register plain-text record, signed January 11, 1996. Typesetting artifacts are removed; no wording is changed.