TacHel

48 minutes ago, peter monahan said:

I rather think the names are superfluous!  Your usual superb work makes the identities quite clear.

I agree 100%

Not a new casting, the new medals are actually minted.  This predates the "current administration"...

I was half expecting at the very minimum a new clasp to the SSM besides the EXPEDITION one...  Anybody who served in Germany before now going to Poland of the Baltic states gets nada...

Notice the new SSM?  Not the old rudely casted, barely filed down before triple plating like mine but new crisp, minted ones from the RCM.

Wow...  And I can barely draw a realistic stick man...

RECOGNITION FOR OPERATION REASSURANCE AND OPERATION UNIFIER

REFS: A. CANFORGEN 073/16 CMP 076/16 251912Z APR 16 
B. CANFORGEN 003/09 CMP 002/09 081950Z JAN 09 
C. CANFORGEN 096/09 CMP 042/09 201315Z MAY 09 

FURTHER TO REF A, AFC HAS DETERMINED THAT THE USE OF THE EXISTING NATO AND EXPEDTION BARS TO THE SPECIAL SERVICE MEDAL IS THE MOST APPROPRIATE AND TIMELY METHOD TO RECOGNIZE SERVICE WITH OPS REASSURANCE AND UNIFIER RESPECTIVELY. HOWEVER, THE CDS HAS DIRECTED THE CF HONOURS POLICY COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT A HOLISTIC REVIEW OF THE SERVICE RECOGNITION FRAMEWORK AND INTENDS TO RECOMMEND TO THE GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES THAT THE TIME CRITERIA FOR CERTAIN MEDALS BE AMENDED IN DUE COURSE

CONSEQUENTLY, AFC HAS APPROVED THE ADDITION OF THE FOL SERVICE TO THE ELIGIBILITY LISTS FOR CERTAIN CAMPAIGN AND SERVICE MEDALS, AS FOLLOWS:

SPECIAL SERVICE MEDAL-NATO (SSM-NATO): 

(1) SERVICE OF CAF MEMBERS WHO DEPLOYED TO CAMPIA TURZII, ROMANIA, LITHUANIA AND SPANGDAHLEM AIRBASE IN GERMANY AS PART OF THE AIR TASK FORCE (ATF), INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE NATO BALTIC AIR PATROL (BAP), SINCE 29 APRIL 2014 (OP REASSURANCE). NO MULTIPLYING FACTOR 

(2) SERVICE OF CAF MEMBERS WHO DEPLOYED TO EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE AS PART OF THE LAND TASK FORCE (LTF), SINCE 29 APRIL 2014 (OP REASSURANCE). NO MULTIPLYING FACTOR 

(3) SERVICE OF CAF MEMBERS WHO SERVED ONBOARD HMC SHIPS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEAS UNDER NATO SNMG2, SINCE 29 APRIL 2014 (OP REASSURANCE), PROVIDED THE SERVICE IS NOT COUNTED TOWARDS A NATO MEDAL. NO MULTIPLYING FACTOR. ONLY TIME SPENT UNDER NATO COMMAND IS ELIGIBLE - TRANSIT TIME DOES NOT COUNT. SERVICE UNDER NATO OPS ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR AND SEA GUARDIAN COUNTS TOWARDS THE APPROPRIATE NATO MEDALS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED NUMERALS AND NOT FOR THE SSM-NATO 

(4) SERVICE OF CAF MEMBERS DEPLOYED TO FORWARD LOGISTICS SITES (FLS) IN DIRECT SUPPORT OF HMC SHIPS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEAS UNDER NATO SNMG2 (WHEN THE SHIPS ARE NOT UNDER OPS ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR OR SEA GUARDIAN), SINCE 29 APRIL 2014 (OP REASSURANCE). NO MULTIPLYING FACTOR 

(5) SERVICE OF CAF MEMBERS IN LATVIA AS PART OR IN DIRECT SUPPORT OF THE ENHANCED FORWARD PRESENCE (EFP) BATTLEGROUP LATVIA, SINCE 22 APR 2017 (OP REASSURANCE). NO MULTIPLYING FACTOR

SPECIAL SERVICE MEDAL-EXPEDITION (SSM-EXP): 

(1) SERVICE OF CAF MEMBERS WHO DEPLOYED TO UKRAINE TO PROVIDE MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES, SINCE 13 JUNE 2015 (OP UNIFIER)

You sure you can't claim the WW1 medals?  if you're the direct descendant...  Might be worth an e-mail...

On 1/10/2017 at 20:40, Chris Boonzaier said:

Hi, the abreviations threw me for a loop, as did the capital "T"s :-)

Repos légionaire...  Et couvres-toi la noix de coco au soleil! 

1 hour ago, Chris Boonzaier said:

Hi,

thanks a million guys!

Nice work!

All the best

Chris

Say what?  Your French is almost as good as mine...  What gives?  Did you break your reading glasses old man? 

Julière Louis 

(CI ?) 1942 Caporal au 1/23  (10.8 ?) en 1941 à la base aérienne de (Toulouse ?)

(AJ97 ?) Tunisie 1942/43, Gr "Lafayette".  Campagnes d'A.F. (Gi ?), Corse France

Alsace. Libéré en août 1945

An airman and POW?

President Putin and Defence Minister Shoigu have officialised the formation of the "young army", the equivalent of the cadet movement in Commonwealth countries.  Youngsters from 11 to 18 in para-military units learning citizenship, patriotic history, military tradition, sports, same as our cadet movement.

Instructor cadre for now will come from the military and reserve/retired list.

Cadet instructors are recognizable by the breast insignia worn above the right breast pocket.

Insignia for an air force base/unit commander (usually full colonel).

Insignia of the Chief of the personnel office of the Defence Ministry.

3 hours ago, Megan said:

One thing to be said for them: they are not medals!

I thought this forum included all military collectibles?

Chief of the personnel office of the Defence Ministry wearing his senior appointment badge over the right breast pocket.

Insignia (cloth) for the commander of a railway troop brigade.

It appears these were instituted by Order of the Minister of National Defence No 490 of 9 August 2016.  From what I read in a Russian forum, this puppy is approximately 100 pages thick!

The Defence Ministry has issued new insignia for senior appointments, from commander-in-chief of the army all the way down to individual unit commanders, akin the Russian navy's surface ship and sub commander's badge.  Air force squadron commanders, division commanders, chiefs of military hospitals, regimental, brigade...  Worn over the right breast pocket.  I've seen them in both metal and cloth.

I've seen some of them, there's probably a ton of different ones.  Here's a sample below.  As I find more info, I'll fill you in.  These will most definitely become highly collectible!

Here's one for a chief of a military hospital, clinic or sanatorium.

Commander land forces wearing his senior appointment badge over the right breast pocket.

6 hours ago, Megan said:

Beautiful medal, thank you for sharing Frank.

Thanks Megs, this is one I wasn't even looking for due to the difficulty in finding them.  I had resigned myself to the fact I wasn't going to get one ever...  Then voilà!  He seriously made my XMas card list for a loooong time! 

12 hours ago, Stuka f said:

Taxes and duty on import are even more ridiculous! 

Luckily, only 1 in 7 parcels is checked for duty here...  The only 2 times in more than 3 decades I was asked to pay duty, I was able to prove what I purchased wasn't available in Canada and thus got out of it.

Upon further examination...  Good luck reading the name. 

Yeah, just as I thought.  The recipient is living...  So I'll leave you with the original photo for now.  Sorry.  Just wouldn't feel right.

Seriously, I don't know what the international postage union have agreed upon but for the past year or so international shipping has slowed to an exact science of 12 days once out of country.  I used to mail items to France and they'd get it within 48 to 72 hours!  Now, 12 days...  I'd get parcels from anywhere inside continental Europe (except Belgium, a bit slower sorry  ) within 2 to 5 days, now 12...  Same for Russia, Australia...  It takes EXACTLY 12 days for a parcel from anywhere on Earth to my front door once it leaves the country of origin.  Mind boggling!  Cannot be a coincidence! 

Won't happen...  The more a package is expected during the holidays the slower it'll go...  The very first day you have to go back to work, during the only 30 minute interval when nobody can answer the door, is when the postman will ring and leave a note saying you can pick it up at the post office the next day after 13h00...  Unless it's a Friday, and it'll be a Friday, then you'll have to twiddle your thumbs until Monday.  That'll be the one day you'll leave work late and get stuck in traffic...  And then it get's worse!    Just trying to make sure you don't get your hopes up too high...

Oh and by the way...  I wasn't afraid in any shape or form that it was stolen...    I meant if the recipient had simply departed with it, that he wouldn't be pointed at for doing so.

Addenda.

Current sellers have become quite adept at producing fake documents.  When in doubt, refer to these pages below, if what you're considering purchasing isn't there, walk away.

Ministerial awards of the Russian Federation

List of awards of independent services of the Russian Federation

Very nice!  Congrats on a really really sweet set! 

I have a friend who's a retired Gendarme, we often exchange items, find ribbons for each other etc...

He sent me this for Christmas!  It is attributed, in original box and with award certificate! 

Please accept my apology for not showing the reverse or the certificate for now.  The award was one for valour and wounds received and the citation is so specific that even if I hid the name, very little effort would be required to trace down the recipient.  I want to make sure with my friend that it's actually OK to do so.  But still...  WOW! 

I'm no expert...  But if those 2 medallions are indeed original and over 200 years old...  I'm Napoleon IV...  You can see blue enamel over the lettering...  Hmmm...  Like I said, I'm no expert, but had I held this in my hand in a shop, I would've left with my money still in my account.