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Iraq Medal (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Iraq Medal was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister
John Howard
in 2004. The Iraq Medal is awarded to Australian Defence Force
(ADF) personnel who served in or around Iraq
after 18 March 2003. ADF personnel are also recognised by the 'IRAQ 2003' clasp to the Australian Active Service Medal
.
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
in 2004. The Iraq Medal is awarded to Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
(ADF) personnel who served in or around Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
after 18 March 2003. ADF personnel are also recognised by the 'IRAQ 2003' clasp to the Australian Active Service Medal
Australian Active Service Medal
The Australian Active Service Medal is an Australian military decoration. It was authorised 13 September 1988 to recognise prescribed service in warlike operations...
.
Eligibility
Members of the ADF who render service with the forces known as:- Operation FalconerAustralian contribution to the 2003 invasion of IraqThe Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the...
- the ADF contribution to the United States led military operations to remove the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that:- commenced on 18 March 2003 and ended on 30 April 2003, with 7 days service in the specified areas comprising the total land areas, territorial waters, inland waterways and superjacent airspace boundaries of Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan Yemen, the Persian Gulf the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, those portions of the Arabian Sea bounded by 68 degrees East68th meridian eastThe meridian 68° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
and 12 degrees North12th parallel northThe 12th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 12 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Indian Ocean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, South America and the Atlantic Ocean....
the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el Mandeb, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba; - commenced on 1 May 2003 and ended on 22 July 2003, with 30 days service in the specified areas comprising the total land areas, territorial waters, inland waterways and superjacent airspace boundaries of Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia north of 23 degrees North23rd parallel northThe 23rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 23 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean....
, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
- commenced on 18 March 2003 and ended on 30 April 2003, with 7 days service in the specified areas comprising the total land areas, territorial waters, inland waterways and superjacent airspace boundaries of Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan Yemen, the Persian Gulf the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, those portions of the Arabian Sea bounded by 68 degrees East
- Operation CatalystAustralian contribution to the 2003 invasion of IraqThe Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer. Part of its contingent were among the...
the ADF contribution to the United States led coalition operations in Iraq to support the Australian effort to assist with the rehabilitation of Iraq and remove the threat of weapons of mass destruction that commenced on 16 July 2003 and ended on 31 July 2009, for 30 days service in the specified areas comprising the total land areas, territorial waters, inland waterways and superjacent airspace boundaries of Iraq Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia north of 23 degrees North23rd parallel northThe 23rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 23 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean....
, the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. - Operation RiverbankCurrent Australian Defence Force deploymentsAs of March 2009, around 3,000 Australian Defence Force personnel are deployed on overseas operations. An additional 500 personnel are deployed on domestic maritime security tasks and 520 as the ADF's response to the February 2009 Victorian bushfires....
from 21 July 2008 personnel attached to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq as part of Operation Riverbank. - Operation KrugerCurrent Australian Defence Force deploymentsAs of March 2009, around 3,000 Australian Defence Force personnel are deployed on overseas operations. An additional 500 personnel are deployed on domestic maritime security tasks and 520 as the ADF's response to the February 2009 Victorian bushfires....
from 1 January 2009 personnel deployed on Operation KRUGER as part of the Security Detachment IraqSecurity Detachment Iraq (Australia)The Security Detachment Iraq was the final component of Australia's contribution to coalition operations in Iraq. SECDET was based on an Australian Army combined arms combat team consisting of an infantry company group and a troop of cavalry which operated the Australian Light Armoured vehicles...
which protects the Australian embassyAustralian diplomatic missionsThis is a list of diplomatic missions of Australia, excluding honorary consulates. Australian diplomatic missions are posts representing the Commonwealth of Australia in foreign countries. They are mostly maintained of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with some smaller posts being run...
in BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
Description
- The Iraq Medal is a cupro-nickelCupronickelCupronickel or copper-nickel or "cupernickel" is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion in seawater, because its electrode potential is adjusted to be neutral with regard to seawater...
circular medal. The obverse features the Commonwealth Coat of ArmsCoat of arms of AustraliaThe coat of arms of Australia is the official symbol of Australia. The initial coat of arms was granted by King Edward VII on 7 May 1908, and the current version was granted by King George V on 19 September 1912, although the 1908 version continued to be used in some contexts, notably appearing on...
. - The reverse has a processional lion, which is copied from a relief on the Gateway of the Temple of IshtarIshtar GateThe Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city....
in BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
. In the Assyrian EmpireAssyriaAssyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, the lion was a dominant symbol of power. The lion stands on a narrow plinth, symbolising balance, with the word 'IRAQ' inscribed underneath. - The ribbon is sand yellow representing the desert sands of Iraq, with central stripes of purple and red representing the ADF and the conflict in Iraq.
See also
- Australian Honours SystemAustralian Honours System-History:The Commonwealth of Australia, until 1975, used the Imperial or British honours system. Only a handful of peerages were created for Australians, some in recognition of public services rendered in Britain rather than Australia. Some hereditary peers and baronets whose titles derive from...
- Australian campaign medalsAustralian campaign medalsAustralian campaign medals in order of precedence as defined in references below. Those campaign medals which have been independently issued by Australia to its armed forces are in bold.-South African War:* Queen's South Africa Medal...
- Australian Honours Order of PrecedenceAustralian Honours Order of Precedence- Order of wear :Order of precedence for the wearing of decorations and awards within the Australian Honours System.Articles marked with * are awards of the British Empire/United Kingdom and are now considered foreign....