Canadian Campaign Medals for the War on Terrorism

Canadian Campaign Medals 2001 involved Air Command, when Canadian CF-18 Hornet fighter-bombers flew numerous patrol, escort and for the War on Terrorism bombing sorties both during the Gulf War in 1991 to liberate Kuwait, and in NATO’s Kosovo Air Campaign Mike Minnich -- "Operation Allied Force" -- against Serbia in 1999. The shock and outrage of the 9-11 terrorist attacks were Canada joins the war shared with the United States by many nations around the world. This particularly included Canada, which is Canada’s earliest actions in support of the United States not only the United States’ closest neighbor in after 9-11 included joint air-defense combat air patrols geographical, cultural and economic terms - but which (employing CF-18s - the still-ongoing "Operation Noble also lost 24 of its own citizens dead among the rubble of Eagle") as well as participation by Canadian aircrew the World Trade Center and aboard several of the aboard North Atlantic Treaty Organization AWACS highjacked airliners. aircraft ("Operation Eagle Assist") over North American cities. What followed was an evolving commitment of the Canadian Armed Forces that has recently led to ongoing However, the most significant commitment came in the -- and periodically heavy - ground combat in dispatch of naval (patrol frigates), and air force (CP-140 Afghanistan as part of the international coalition there Aurora -- similar to the United States Navy P-3 Orion against Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists. As of January -- maritime patrol aircraft, CC-130 Hercules tactical 26, 2007, a total of 45 Canadians have lost their lives in transports, and warship-based CH-124 Sea King Afghanistan (35 Canadian Forces members -- plus one helicopters) assets into the Arab-Persian Gulf region -- Department of Foreign Affairs foreign-service officer-- the location of the "Camp Mirage" theater-support due to hostile action, and the remaining nine soldiers in airbase from which the Hercules still operate today non-combat accidents, incidents, etc.), while at least 107 remains classified at the host nation’s request -- plus an others have been seriously wounded in action. Significant infantry battle group (i.e., a heavily reinforced battalion) ground-combat operations began in the first half of 2006 into Afghanistan itself, arriving in Kandahar in February when the Canadian contingent was increased to 2002. approximately 2,300 personnell. It has subsequently fluctuated between 2,300 and 2,500 troops and its focus (Members of the super-secret Joint Task Force Two of operations has shifted from Kabul in the north to the [JTF2] special-operations unit -- Canada’s equivalent much more dangerous Kandahar province in the Taliban- of the United States Army’s Delta Force -- have regularly dominated south. been in and out of Afghanistan since the earliest days, too, but scant information on their strength or combat This level of outright combat is unprecedented for the activities has been made available. It is known that about Canadian army (today officially known as Land Force 40 JTF2 members - but not the whole organization - Command in the unified Canadian Forces) since its were awarded the Navy Presidential Unit Citation brigade-strength involvement in the Korean War of 1950- authorized by President Bush in October 2004 to 53, where Canadian losses -- for all branches of service, "Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force South" but overwhelmingly Army -- totaled 253 killed in action, for actions in Afghanistan over the period October 17, with another 209 non-combat deaths in-theater. Spread 2001 to March 30, 2002. This was a United States Navy thin, given the large geographical area for which they SEAL-led group [also known as Task Force KBAR] that are responsible in Kandahar province, the previously included elements from al__[1 United States special unblooded Canadian troops have performed operations forces plus similar SOF troops from seven magnificently. allied countries including Canada. It has been reported that these Canadian commandos are not allowed to wear While Canadian Forces members suffered casualties and the Presidential Unit Citation ribbon on their uniform certainly came under - and very effectively returned - because it would identify their JTF2 affiliation.) fire while on numerous United Nations peacekeeping missions dating back to the 1950s (Cyprus in 1974 and Full details on Canada’s ground operations in the war in Croatia/Bosnia in the mid-1990s come especially to Afghanistan are beyond the scope of this article, but mind) the only "intentional" offensive combat operations suffice to say that the operating area began in Kandahar conducted by the Canadian Forces in the period 1954- for February-August 2002, then moved 275 miles (443 Vol. 58, No. 2 5 km) northeast to Kabul (Afghanistan’s capital) and the associated federal-government civilian employees for new contingent’s make-up shifted to mechanized service in Afghanistan and at other overseas locations in reconnaissance and various combat-engineering, signals, direct support of Task Force Afghanistan: logistics, medical and other support activities - duty more akin to traditional UN peacekeeping -- with much The South West Asia Service Medal patrolling in and around Kabul. (The vast majority of Canadian Forces members in Task Force Afghanistan The South West Asia Service Medal was established on serve six-month tours of duty, although there is no August 6, 2002, with the first award ceremony held in absolute legal requirement to set assignments at that Ottawa by the Governor-General on September 20, 2002. length, and there have been exceptions in both directions.) The medal was earned either by 90 days’ service outside Canada in a supporting capacity to Afghan operations, It was only during late 2005 and early 2006 that the task or for 30 days’ service inside Afghanistan or at the Camp force was refocused to a mechanized-infantry battle Mirage airbase or aboard a Canadian naval vessel in the group -- supported by a battery of 155mm howitzers Gulf or other waters in the region. Originally, the and, more recently, 15 Leopard C2 main battle tanks -- qualifying period ran from September 11, 2001 to either and moved back down into Kandahar province. Task August 16th or 29th, 2003 (depending on exact status/ Force Afghanistan also incorporates a separate -- but location). well-armed -- 250-strong Provincial Reconstruction Team (which includes a few civilian specialist advisors If the medal was earned by Canadian Forces personnel from various federal government departments - one of assigned to Central Command Headquarters in Tampa, whom died in a suicide car bombing in January 2006 -- Florida, or at logistical lines-of-communication activities as well as from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in Germany, Italy, or Turkey, then a silver clasp sewn on that established itself in Kandahar City in the fall of 2005 the ribbon reading AFGHANISTAN (and represented by to conduct ongoing civil-military co-operation and a silver maple leaf device on the service or "undress" nation-building projects that are vital to counteract a ribbon bar) did not apply. If the service was performed recent surge of violent anti-government intimidation by in Afghanistan or the Gulf region, then these devices are a reorganized Taliban and their terrorist allies. To indicate approved as well. how the intensity of operations has increased since the move to Kandahar, total Canadian Afghanistan fatalities Note: For whatever reason, all official Canadian honors in the four-year period 2002 through 2005 amounted to and awards documentation exclusively employs the term just eight soldiers: three due to hostile action and five in "bar" for both what would traditionally be called a accidents/incidents. "clasp" on a campaign medal and - more properly - to the suspension-ribbon device that represents an additional The large Canadian base outside Kabul was closed down award of the same decoration. The only official Canadian at the end of November 2005, simultaneous with a use of the term "clasp" is for the devices that go on the significant enhancement to the former American base at suspension ribbon of the [somewhat mis-named] Kandahar Airfield. Canadian Forces Decoration 12-year long-service medal, each representing an additional ten-year period of service. The core Canadian operation in Afghanistan and the Gulf Officially correct or not, the author has chosen to employ support area was first designated Operation Apollo the traditional term "clasp" for the campaign medal (September 2001 - August 2003), then Operation Athena ribbon devices in this article. (August 2003 - mid-October 2005), Operation Archer (October 2005 - July 2006), and now primarily Operation The South West Asia Service Medal was the only Athena again. Separately, the periodic deployment of a campaign award issued for service under Operation Maritime Command warship into the Gulf is known as Apollo. When the operation became Athena in 2003, it Operation Altair (the fact that all these names start with was believed by many that this medal would only "A" is based on the first letter of the theater of operations: continue to be awarded to naval crews under Operation Afghanistan). Altair plus a few other specialist headquarters and training personnel inside Afghanistan, but there turned Campaign Medals Established out to be many more recipients for a limited time period in 2005-2006, as we shall see. Canada’s involvement in the War on Terrorism has resulted in the creation to date of three different campaign medals for award to Canadian Forces members and 6 JOMSA (Note: the first issue of the South West Asia Service Medal was a very poorly-struck product with embarrassingly deficient detail (Figure 1). Starting in January 2006, a new contract resulted in a vastly improved quality of pendant, which is the version that has been issued since then. Unlike the General Campaign Star and the General Service Medal, the South West Asia Service Medal has never been awarded officially name- engraved.) Figure 2: The obverse of the South West Asia Service Medal is seen in this close-up of the leftmost award of the author’s set of mounted medals.

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