New Zealand Special Service Medal
Encyclopedia
The New Zealand Special Service Medal (NZSSM) was established by royal warrant by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand on 23 July 2002. The medal serves to recognize military service that would not otherwise be recognized by a Campaign medal
.
depicts the New Zealand Coat of Arms. The reverse, depicts a bouquet of flowers native to New Zealand. This bouquet has fern fronds and flowers of the Pohutukawa, Manuka
, Kowhai
, and Mount Cook Lily. Across the base of the bouquet is a scroll bearing the words "FOR SPECIAL SERVICE". This design is shared by all three medals.
The medal is suspended from a ribbon is 32 mm wide. The ribbon design varies based on the conditions under which the medal is awarded.
The ribbon of this medal has black, white, red and crimson stripes at the left side with an orange center stripe and crimson, red, white and black stripes at the right side.
The ribbon of this medal has eleven vertical stripes of equal width in of red, white, blue, orange, green, yellow, green, orange, blue, white, and red. These colors are representative of the national flags of the countries affected by the tsunami.
on Mount Erebus
, Ross Island
, Antarctica on 28 November 1979. Qualifying service includes body recovery, crash investigation and victim identification. Service was performed at the crash site; during support and supply flights in and out of the crash site; at McMurdo Station
; or the mortuary at Auckland University School of Medicine.
The ribbon of the medal is seven vertical stripes in dark blue, light blue, white, black, white, light blue, and dark blue.
Campaign medal
A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater...
.
Description
The circular medal is made of gold plated base-metal. The obverseObverse and reverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...
depicts the New Zealand Coat of Arms. The reverse, depicts a bouquet of flowers native to New Zealand. This bouquet has fern fronds and flowers of the Pohutukawa, Manuka
Leptospermum scoparium
Leptospermum scoparium is a shrub or small tree native to New Zealand and southeast Australia. Evidence suggests that L. scoparium originated in Australia before the onset of the Miocene aridity and dispersed relatively recently from Eastern Australia to New Zealand. It is likely that on arrival...
, Kowhai
Kowhai
Kowhai are small, woody legume trees in the genus Sophora native to New Zealand. There are eight species, S. microphylla being the most common. Kowhai trees grow throughout the country and are a common feature in New Zealand gardens. Outside of New Zealand, Kowhai tend to be restricted to mild...
, and Mount Cook Lily. Across the base of the bouquet is a scroll bearing the words "FOR SPECIAL SERVICE". This design is shared by all three medals.
The medal is suspended from a ribbon is 32 mm wide. The ribbon design varies based on the conditions under which the medal is awarded.
New Zealand Special Service Medal (Nuclear Testing)
The NZSSM (Nuclear Testing) is a retrospective award, established 24 July 2002, presented to personnel who were part of a New Zealand Government presence at atmospheric nuclear tests in the 1950's and one in 1973. The tests recognized by this medal were at:- Maralinga, South AustraliaMaralinga, South AustraliaMaralinga, South Australia in the remote western areas of South Australia was the home of the Maralinga Tjarutja, a southern Pitjantjatjara Indigenous Australian people. Maralinga was the site of the secret British nuclear tests in the 1950s. The site measures about 3,300 km² in area...
, on 27 September, 4 October, and 22 October 1956, and 25 September 1957 - Malden IslandMalden IslandMalden Island, sometimes called Independence Island in the nineteenth century, is a low, arid, uninhabited island in the central Pacific Ocean, about in area...
, on 15 May, 31 May, and 19 June 1957 - Christmas IslandChristmas IslandThe Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
, on 8 November 1957, 28 April, 22 August, 2 September, 11 September, or 23 September 1958 - Nevada Test Site, on 1 September 1957
- Enewetak Atoll, on 18 July 1958
- MoruroaMoruroaMoruroa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean...
, on 22 July, and 28 July 1973
The ribbon of this medal has black, white, red and crimson stripes at the left side with an orange center stripe and crimson, red, white and black stripes at the right side.
New Zealand Special Service Medal (Asian Tsunami)
The NZSSM (Asian Tsunami) was established on 22 December 2005 to recognize service in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. It recognizes a minimum of 7 days service from 26 December 2004 to 28 February 2005, or a minimum of 14 days from 26 December 2004 to 26 December 2005. Qualifying service is relief, recovery and reconstruction in affected countries. Countries affected where New Zealand citizens served were Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Thailand.The ribbon of this medal has eleven vertical stripes of equal width in of red, white, blue, orange, green, yellow, green, orange, blue, white, and red. These colors are representative of the national flags of the countries affected by the tsunami.
New Zealand Special Service Medal (Erebus)
The NZSSM (Erebus) was established November 2006 to recognize service in the aftermath of the crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901Air New Zealand Flight 901
Air New Zealand Flight 901 was a scheduled Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight that operated between 1977 and 1979, from Auckland Airport to Antarctica and return via Christchurch...
on Mount Erebus
Mount Erebus
Mount Erebus in Antarctica is the southernmost historically active volcano on Earth, the second highest volcano in Antarctica , and the 6th highest ultra mountain on an island. With a summit elevation of , it is located on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes, notably Mount...
, Ross Island
Ross Island
Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound.-Geography:...
, Antarctica on 28 November 1979. Qualifying service includes body recovery, crash investigation and victim identification. Service was performed at the crash site; during support and supply flights in and out of the crash site; at McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
; or the mortuary at Auckland University School of Medicine.
The ribbon of the medal is seven vertical stripes in dark blue, light blue, white, black, white, light blue, and dark blue.