Establishing the Armed Forces Service Medal

Executive Order 12985 of January 11, 1996

Establishing the Armed Forces Service Medal

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including my authority as Commander in Chief
of the Armed Forces of the United States, it is hereby
ordered as follows:

Section 1. Establishment. There is hereby established
the Armed Forces Service Medal with accompanying
ribbons and appurtenances, for award to members of the
Armed Forces of the United States who, on or after June
1, 1992, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
(a) Participate, or have participated, as members of
United States military units in a United States
military operation in which personnel of any Armed
Force participate that is deemed to be significant
activity; and

(b) Encounter no foreign armed opposition or
imminent hostile action.

Sec. 2. Approval and Award. The medal, with ribbons and
appurtenances, shall be of an appropriate design
approved by the Secretary of Defense and shall be
awarded by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary
of Transportation with respect to the Coast Guard when
it is not operating as a service in the Navy, under
uniform regulations, as prescribed by the Secretary of
Defense. The regulations shall place the Armed Forces
Service Medal in an order of precedence immediately
before the Humanitarian Service Medal.

Sec. 3. Criteria. The medal shall be awarded only for
operations for which no other United States service
medal is approved. For operations in which personnel of
only one Military Department or the Coast Guard
participate, the medal shall be awarded only if there
is no other suitable award available to the department
or the Coast Guard. No more than one medal shall be
awarded to any one person, but for each succeeding
operation justifying such award a suitable device may
be awarded to be worn on the medal or ribbon as
prescribed by appropriate regulations.

Sec. 4. Posthumous Provision. The medal may be awarded
posthumously and, when so awarded, may be presented to
such representative of the deceased as may be deemed
appropriate by the Secretary of Defense or the
Secretary of Transportation.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 11, 1996.