TacHel

Bison, non... Il veut dire la médaille qui pend du ruban jaune dans la seconde photo...

He sure does! He simultaneously personifies "valour", "dignity" and "humility"... Quite a feat in itself wouldn't agree?!

Even after an exhaustive web search... I still couldn't find a photo of the esteemed general wearing "ALL" of his gongs... He doesn't even bother to pin on his Croix du combattant... Hmmmmm... Any particular reason why he's never seen wearing his numerous campaign medals?

Here's the medal in the manufacturer's presentation etui.

This one is the decoration "For Distinction", awarded for the same reasons as the decoration "For Merit" but to sailors and petty officers.

A few memorable quotes... (I'm still laughing) "embedded up to their jocks in some seriously deep " "this tsunami of gun-toting humanity" "raging psychotic hellhole of ass-sucking carnage" "the kind of woman who was going to flip her and go Princess Vespa on hordes of AK-47 toting maniacs" "turn the entire plane into a smoking crater of suck" "before a Viet Minh shell fragged it back to the Cretaceous Period (or whichever geological Era is responsible for airplanes)" :lol:

I think the lady is fascinating! I loved reading her story... But must admit at laughing out loud at the author's writing style... Was this a junior high school project? Eisenhower's intro is quite poignant and really set's the tone though!

Yup... The Chinese would've gone totally ballistic over the use of tactical nukes so close to their borders. The dominoes would've potentially fallen pretty quickly...

Simply... Wow!...

ABSO - (censored) - LUTELY BRILLIANT! WOW WOW WOW! STUNNING WORK! I AM BLOWN AWAY MAN!

Wow! Beautiful worksmanship!

But still very nice pics of an extremely rare Order! Thanks Nick!

Unfortunately, I must agree with Sam... The overall quality is darn near as low as Göde items...

A shame they didn't take this opportunity to enamel it, it would look really nice...

Incredible find!

Here she is:

Here she is...

Establishment order of the defense minister #219 dated 5 April 2014 found and translated; it reads: Medal "For Distinction during an Exercise" "Awarded to military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for high personal performance in field, naval or air training achieved during a major exercise; for having skilfully organized and conducted exercises in which all set goals were achieved; for achievements in the development and improvement of techniques and methods of warfare enhancing the effectiveness of weapons and military equipment used during the exercise."

Establishment order of the minister of defense #221 dated 5 April 2014 found and translated, it reads: "Awarded to military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as to employees of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation, to industrial production and scientific research organizations for excellence in innovation in the design, manufacture and commissioning of modern weapons and military equipment."

Establishment order of the minister of defense #160 dated 21 March 2014 found and translated. it reads: "Awarded to military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for services and distinction displayed during the security measures related to the protection of the rights and lives of the citizens of the Crimea, the March 16, 2014 referendum in the Crimea and the entry of the Crimea in the Russian Federation as the result of the referendum. The medal can also be awarded to other citizens of the Russian Federation and to foreign citizens for assistance in solving the tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation relating to these security measures taken in the Crimea."

Russian Defense Ministry order # 948 of 23 December 2013. This Defense Minister's Order establishes 3 new awards for troops of electronic warfare forces. First a medal "For Service in Electronic Warfare Troops". Sorry, no photo or drawing found yet. And 2 decorations to be worn on the right breast. The decorations "For Merit" and "For Distinction" of Electronic Warfare Troops. Historically, the "For Merit" is bestowed upon officiers and warrant officers while the "For Distinction" is bestowed upon privates and junior NCOs including sargeants. More data and photos ASAP.

I'm starting to feel like I've been sleeping at the proverbial switch for the past year! Here's another new arrival I just discovered! Established by order of the Defense Minister of the Russian Federation #523 on 19 July 2013. More data and photos ASAP...

It's been awarded thousands of times... And no, the Crimean medal wasn't one of the 3 mentioned here. The others are the "Mikhail Kalashnikov" medal and I don't know why they said he established a 3rd, it's only an amendment to the statute of the Defense Ministry medal "For Labour Valour" awarded to members of the civilian staff.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently signed an order establishing 3 new ministerial medals, one of which will be named the Medal "For Distinction in Exercises". It will reward soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces displaying special merit in the exercises and training in preparation for large Army and Navy maneuvers. Before the establishment of this medal, the most distinguished officers and warrant officers were awarded the medal "For Distinction in Combat", no more non-combat related awards of this medal will be made. Therefore, the decision was taken by Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu to establish a new medal and making it now possible to reward even soldiers and sergeants. The medal "For Distinction in Combat" (photo above) will no longer be awarded for non-combat related merit. Source the Russian Gazette www.rg.ru

Just found a drawing of the new "Kalashnikov" medal on the Russian Gazette. As other Defense Ministry awards bearing the name of a general or admiral, it will bear the honoree's bust.