General Service Medal - Canada

[JPL]

Just came across this interesting article:

Public Servants from Canada working alongside Canadian Forces in Afghanistan are concerned that they are no longer eligible for military medals despite civilian police officers and some private sector contractors receiving them. The PS staff were eligible for the military’s General Service Medal when the mission began in 2002 as they worked under the authority of the Canadian Forces. But several months ago Afghanistan Task Force officials said they no longer qualified because they did not work for the military.

Here is a link to the complete article: http://www.psnews.com.au/worldpsn2482.html

Jean-Paul

[Guest Darrell]

Good. Too many dust sweepers and paper pushers trying to get in on awards that should be due only to the troops that are over there doing work specifically for the Military.

[servicepub]

Good. Too many dust sweepers and paper pushers trying to get in on awards that should be due only to the troops that are over there doing work specifically for the Military.

So a government worker shouldn't get the medal but the privately hired mechanic working for a DND contractor can?

As a Public Servant who spent 9 months in Haiti working as a UN Police I did everything that the other Canadian police officers did (but without the tax break) and earned my UN medal and my Cdn Peacekeeping Service Medal. As a Public Servant I was also scheduled to travel to Afghanistan where I would have qualified for the Operational Service Medal. Are you suggesting that I am "dust sweeper and paper pusher" and shouldn't? I would also like to point out the DFAIT has lost one senior diplomat and have had several seriously wounded because they take many of the same risks as the soldiers there by travelling to and from the PRT - yet are not allowed to be armed. They are also in country for much longer than the normal 6-month tour. These Public Servants do not pretend to be soldiers and do not qualify for the Campaign Star but awarding them the Campaign Medal is a small enough reward.

Clive