national defence medal

Has anyone heard of this ;

http://nationaldefencemedal.webs.com/apps/profile/profilePage?id=41377693

It`s been going on for years now..Personaly i don`t see any point in it.Sign up and get a medal???????????No thanks it`s a bit too much like our cousins over the water.

I agree, I have my veterans badge and a couple of medals, I'm content with that frankly.

Yea lets get one of those and maybe;
a. First in the NAFFI que.
b. Any suggestions?

I think its a good idea.

Many guys served for 3,6,9 or 12 years all of it UK and Germany ready to fight off the Russian bear whilst at the same time being vigilant against the scumbags of the IRA et al.

They were discharged with an exemplary record but due to the nature of the beast never received any medallic recognition.

On remembereance day they look slightly 'under dressed' but in my opinion deserve official recognition past our little badge!

I think that anyone who did a week under canvas at Reisehlen in March deserves a medal for a start !

Let's face it, in all seriousness BAOR was, to all intents and purposes, a home posting with LOA and Duty Free an added bonus. A medal ? Surely not.

I think Op Banner should get more recognition than just a bar on the GSM but then you would get the controversy that a bloke on his flat feet in Belfast or Derry has more claim to an award than someone who was in theatre but never "at the sharp end".

For those who have been under fire, some kind of Combat Badge, like (dare I say it ?) the Americans have, might be an idea.

brum

Got to agree with you about the GSM Brum.It was awarded for service in Singapore during the Indonesian carry on.So a guy (nameless) sitting in a secure compound in the largest RAF station in the world got the same as the guys slogging it out in the jungle.

Mind you,, the first had a greater chance of getting liver problems

I appreciate what your thoughts are Brum, I suggest we agree to disagree.

There has been talk of a combat denominator which would be awarded retrospectively to 1990 as such to encompass the Gulf war.

The criteria, as I understand it, would be for ANY service person to have been in a firefight with an armed enemy - RCT/RAOC/RLC as much chance as receiving it as, lets say, Paras.

Certainly with the past 20 years worth of action.

Didn't realise we were disagreeing Martin !

Looking back at my original sally I don't notice any reference to cap badges.

My first and worst BANNER tour involved men being killed and injured and with us, "on the ground," were RCT, REME and RSIGS and let's not forget the cry "Fetch FELIX"

To only go back to 1990 would exclude Kenya, Cyprus, Malaya, Op Banner and the Falklands. Unacceptable, as I'm sure a lot of the old 'uns here would agree.

Don't misunderstand me mate, the recognition I'm suggesting would go way back, beyond Korea, if so be it.

Cheers Gordon, my liver gives you a hepatic salute.

Brum,
you wrote ;
Let's face it, in all seriousness BAOR was, to all intents and purposes, a home posting with LOA and Duty Free an added bonus. A medal ? Surely not.

DO NOT TAKE this the wrong way mate but like a lot on here, it seems that most have served on Op Banner here. We all got the GSM for it !

What about those that served in BAOR that NEVER set foot in N.I. mate and were murdered or lost limbs by by the scum bag f*cking tw*ting pira and never got a medal ?
The RAF Cpl Islania and his 6 month daughter Nivruti stick in my mind for one, the RAF Reg lads at Roermond whom were murdered, the R.A officer murdered on his door step etc etc etc.
They got sod all, and their war widows are not entitled to the cheap 80p veterans badge either !

Perhaps its just me but i would like to see those that were wounded, maimed etc by pira outside of N.I. get something more than a crappy little veterans badge. And not forgetting the other wars since 1945. Look how long it took for the Suez lads to get something ? My uncle was a para and dropped into Suez and 4 months after he got his medal, he passed away !

If blair can get medals, etc etc and greedy bankers get knighthoods, dodgey mp's get peerages etc then i think our vets should something more than a cheap wothless veterans badge, dont you ?

Oh well, thats life in a brown, blue suit eh ?

Sorry Brum, my disagreeing comment was purely in respect of

Let's face it, in all seriousness BAOR was, to all intents and purposes, a home posting with LOA and Duty Free an added bonus. A medal ? Surely not.

The combat action badge (or whatever it will be called should it ever appear) should be, in my opinion, be backdated to 1945 - so including all small conflicts since Palestine 45-48. Sadly I doubt HMG will consult me although I do not overcharge or claim for my moat to be cleaned out.....

RAF G - has some valid points as well - being in BAOR/BFG does not imply that life was all rosy, we had felix out more times than the cooks had decent eggs on the hotplate due to IED or at least suspect ieds and I was mortared whilst in transit in Osnabruck....... I needed a new set of kecks after that!

A moot point, but in the early 1950's Charge Sheets in BAOR always stated ' that whilst on Active Service Signalman Blogs did etc' ....

Len (Ciphers)