New medal for special ops
A new medallic award will be issued to members of the Australian special forces for qualifying service on special operations in the future.
FILE IMAGE (May 2019): Australian Army soldiers from 2nd Commando Regiment onboard a 6th Aviation Regiment Black Hawk – with Australian Operational Service Medal – Special Operations overlaid. Photo by Corporal Kyle Genner.
On 1 November 2019, the Governor-General authorised the introduction of the new award within the Australian Operational Service Medal (AOSM) suite, which will be known as the AOSM – Special Operations.
A Defence spokesperson told CONTACT today that the Australian Operational Service Medal was introduced in 2012 to recognise the service of Australian Defence Force members on contemporary operations.
“Special operations that occur on or after 1 November 2019, as determined by the Chief of Defence Force, are eligible for recognition with the AOSM – Special Operations,” the Defence spokesperson said.
“Service on special operations has previously been recognised with the Australian Service Medal 1945-75 with Clasp ‘SPECIAL OPS’ between 1945-1975, and the Australian Service Medal with Clasp ‘SPECIAL OPS’ from 1975-2019.
“All special operations before 1 November 2019 will be recognised with the appropriate Australian Service Medal.”
[CONTACT confirmed with Defence on that last bit…
while the ASM and AASM were actually phased out in recent years, replaced by the AOSM with differing ribbons, there was no seperate medallic recognition for SF in the AOSM – so the ASM (not the AASM) with clasp ‘SPECIAL OPS’ was used in the interim. Apparently this was consistent with previous arrangements in the interim between ASM 1945-75 and ASM post 1975]
Defence’s spokesperson said that as special operations were made eligible for the AOSM – Special Operations, the Directorate of Honours and Awards would be provided with the nominal roll of eligible members.
“This will allow the award to be issued directly to the member without the need for an application to be submitted.”
The medal of the AOSM – Special Operations will be the same as all other AOSMs, but distinguished by a new ribbon.
The ribbon of the AOSM – Special Operations is black, representing the non-conventional conduct of special operations, with a single red stripe down the middle, representing danger, strength and the great sacrifices made by recipients in defence of Australia.
Further information will be made available on the Defence website in the coming weeks at www.defence.gov.au/medals
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Having served in the Army for 49 years including operational service with SAS (beret qualified), RAR and RACT in PNG, SVN and East Timor I do not support the issues of a special medal for SOCOMD. We all face the same dangers and conditions on operations. I can remember well the clashes that occurred within the ADF when the issue of the ASM, AASM was being discussed. I agree with wearing the Winged Dagger is reward enough for serving with the Regiment. We distort the faces of our SOCOMD members in publications, but now because of the special ops medal they will be easily identified when wearing their medals on civilian clothing. Let’s stop with the division within our Army we are all one and the same, we wear the uniform of a proud Army with a valued history.
I agree with every one of the comments above! Really getting pissed with the way the government the GG and Defence higher ups are carrying on these days ! Really I’m a old ODF hand 2/4 RAR missed Christmas’s and like the man said always 24/7 on call . Then all the injured or killed in peace and war our DVA might be in my own very personal opionion a very big might be picking up their game they still have many many miles to go! As for another special medal why the dangers one service person faces is as far as governments are concerned the same as any other then why make tribes out of a ARmy or Navy or Airforce when we are ment to be equally usefull . I read recently that the real difference between special and regular and reserve is the amount of money spent on training alone in the end . Which makes one think a bit or it should! By the way I believe that the leadership lost its way punter recently with banning of certain head dress and then the idiotic decision to ban so-called death ideology! The combat badge still has the bayonet displayed on it front and center hows that for blood thirsty really our leaders in defence should be more interested in running an armed force than cossying up to politicians and trying to be touchy feely . Really we are one force but hey the parties on both sides of our government is turning the nation into individual tribes so why not our armed forces? This is my own personal opinion and if the editor would like to email me before putting this post up please do!
I have no problem with your views, and opinions Steve – though I don’t necessarily share them. I salute your passion and encourage you to vent on any other story that wets your whistle or gets your goat.
Brian Hartigan
CONTACT Editor
They may just turn the ICB into a butter knife or tampon if the PC libtard top brass and Minister gets their way lol…No offence to the ICB fanboys and their subsequent erectile dysfunctions if that happens ??.
Here’s another ‘worm’ to throw in there …….two Army members in the same area of operations one from SOCOM and another poor flunky from the ‘not so special forces’, enduring the same dangers the same operational hardships for the same period (except they don’t share the same accommodation and rations, coz you know special forces and all that) but both get different medals.
What the effing f@*k I say…. the CDF and the GG need to pull their heads out of their arses and remember the Army they were once a part of.
Will the men and women who had their christmases ruined, and life events be getting a medal for all those put ” online ” for being allowed no more than an hour away from base and on call 24/7 for being the ODF .??
Might as well ..
About time Defence Honours & Awards started to identify and recognise ‘Non-Conventional, Special, Dangerous, Strong’ and related ‘Sacrifice’ involved in specialist Units.
Hec – this means the ‘Non-Conventional, Special, Dangerous, Strong’ and numerous ‘Sacrifices’ of the dead and permanently injured from 3RAR PARA circa 1980’s may finally get recognised…… noooo, can’t see that happening to the forgotten Battalion and the countless who ‘sacrificed’ their bodies to build a capability!
Gee whiz – does this also finally forecast a possible move by government to FINALLY RECOGNISE all those who are killed in service via a ‘For Sacrifice-Life’ medallic device for those killed doing their job… on Oz soil, in the air or in our Oceans!
Signed
Grumpy with Chronic Pain 30 years’ on.
On Behalf of: The Vets We Forget.
Divisive approach yet again, SOCOM has become the political pet of those in government so they have to pander to the egos of their commanders (who can forget the SOCOM exemption from the OH&S banning of the beret). The Army is greater than ‘super grunts’ but you’d never know it, Politicians can deploy them without question from the public with the “operational security we can’t discuss what they’re doing” bullshit response, while the personnel in SOCOM are so up their own butts they rather be killing each other than the baddies.
Wankers badge, basically.
I don’t want to sound bitter about this but lets put this into operational perspective over the last 20 years of operations, what specific role have the SASR or Commando’s performed unique to their charters and capability that a sufficiently equipped and trained Infantry Battalion with support couldn’t?
Targeting Talibs? Nope can be done in the Infantry role…..VIP Protection? Nope can be done by the MP’s….Holding Ground? Nope can only be done by conventional forces….Training Iraqi’s?…..Nope that can (and is) done by anyone qualified. Long Range Recon? well that is their role but they rarely perform it.
The only reason that SOCOM has been rotated ad infinitum through operations over the last 20 years is a political and a financial fiddling of the books, it would cost too much money and be open to public scrutiny to use the standing Army in their legitimate role.
They tried using Reserve Commandos to shore up the tired and worn out but that was both an operational and tactical disaster……there is no substitute for a standing Army in fighting wars.
IMHO The ASM should have only ever been utilized solely for those who deployed overseas for the prescribed 30 day minimum period for peacekeeping and non-warlike operations as per the original criteria…full stop. Now with the introduction of the more streamlined AOSM/OSM variants in the last decade, which again in my general opinion are terrible looking and not as distinguishable as their predecessor awards when determining operational service, I guess in this circumstance it does clear up the blurry line a bit.
In saying that, tacking on another ‘recognition’ award cheapens the worth of those in SOCOM, as just being beret qualified and serving in these units alone is enough for individual recognition and pride.