Regulations for the Forces Medal 2020

(The following Regulations, approved by the Secretary of State for Defence on 8 December 2020, replace those made in 2004. Cadet Force Adult Volunteers who qualify for the Medal or Clasp(s) on or after 8 December 2020 will be subject to the Regulations below. Those who qualified for the Medal or Clasp(s) before 8 December 2020 (excepting Cadet Force Adult Volunteers in the Volunteer Cadet Corps), or those who left the Cadet Forces before 8 December 2020, will be subject to the 2004 Regulations.)

1. Introduction. The Cadet Forces Medal and Clasps are awards to uniformed Cadet Force Adult Volunteers in recognition of long service of proved capacity in the MOD- sponsored Cadet Forces1. The award of the Cadet Forces Medal is governed generally by Royal Warrant dated 12 November 2020. It carries no rights to the use of post-nominal letters.

2. The Medal is circular in form and in cupro-nickel and bears on the obverse the Crown Effigy of the Sovereign and, on the reverse, the inscription “The Cadet Forces Medal” and a representation of a flaming torch. The Medal is suspended from a bar and the name of the recipient is inscribed around the rim. It is to be worn on the left breast suspended by a ribbon one-and-a-quarter inches in width of green with yellow edges with narrow central stripes of dark blue, red and light blue, the dark blue stripe being worn furthest from the left shoulder. In accordance with the official list showing the order in which orders, decorations and medals are to be worn, the Medal is to be placed immediately after the Queen’s Medal for champion shots of the Air Forces.

3. Clasps may be awarded for service following the award of the Medal. They are of cupro-nickel and are to be attached to the ribbon by which the Medal is suspended. Rose emblems denoting the award of each Clasp are attached to the ribbon when the ribbon only is worn. To denote service beyond the award of three Clasps (three ‘silver’ roses) the following are to be worn:

a. Four Clasps - one ‘gold’ rose. b. Five Clasps - one ‘gold’ rose and one ‘silver’ rose. c. Six Clasps - one ‘gold’ rose and two ‘silver’ roses. d. Seven Clasps - two ‘gold’ roses. e. Where ‘gold’ and ‘silver’ roses are worn on the same ribbon, the ‘gold’ rose is to be placed furthest from the left shoulder.

4. The names of those who have been awarded the Medal or Clasps shall be published in The London Gazette.

5. Miniatures of the Medal may be worn on appropriate occasions. They are to be provided at private expense.

6. Eligibility. To be eligible for award of the Medal or Clasps, an individual must be serving, or have served, as a uniformed Cadet Force Adult Volunteer in:

a. The Sea Cadet Corps

1 The MOD-sponsored Cadet Forces comprise: the Sea Cadet Corps, the Volunteer Cadet Corps, the , the and the .

b. The Volunteer Cadet Corps2

c. The Combined Cadet Force

d. The Army Cadet Force

e. The Air Training Corps or with similar cadet organisations in the British Overseas Territories. Individuals must still be serving at the time that the qualifying service is completed.

7. The Medal will be awarded on completion of twelve years’ qualifying service reckoned in accordance with paragraphs 9 to 11 below.

8. A Clasp will be awarded for each six years’ additional qualifying service reckoned in accordance with paragraphs 9 and 11 below. (Prior to 1 April 1999, Clasps were awarded for each eight years’ additional service. Qualifying service for awards prior to 1 April 1999 is to be reckoned in accordance with the rules at that time.)

9. Qualifying Service. The following will reckon as qualifying service:

a. Aggregated service after the age of eighteen as a uniformed Cadet Force Adult Volunteer in any of the Cadet Forces listed in paragraph 6.

b. Service after the age of eighteen as a cadet in any of the Cadet Forces listed in paragraph 6, up to a maximum of two years’ service.

c. Service, up to a maximum of six years, and subject to provision of a certificate of service, as a uniformed Cadet Force Adult Volunteer in recognised Cadet Forces in the Commonwealth equivalent to those described in paragraph 6, provided that such service shall not have been recognised by an equivalent award.

d. Service, up to a maximum of three years:

i. as a commissioned officer or in the ranks, in the Volunteer Reserve Forces of the United Kingdom3, or as a member of the University Royal Naval Units, the Officer Training Corps and University Air Squadrons, provided that such service shall precede service in the Cadet Forces and that it shall not have been counted towards the award of the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal or any of the awards preceding that Medal; or

ii. as a commissioned officer or in the ranks, in the Regular Forces of the , provided that such service shall precede service in the Cadet Forces and that it shall not have been counted towards the award of any other long service award. Full-time service to a maximum of three years after the award of another long service award may be counted; or

iii. a combination, not exceeding three years, of Regular or Reserve service as described in i. and ii. above.

2 To be eligible, a uniformed Cadet Force Adult Volunteer in the Volunteer Cadet Corps must have been serving on or after 12 November 2020 (the date of the Royal Warrant which extended eligibility to the Volunteer Cadet Corps). 3 The Volunteer Reserve Forces are the Royal Naval Reserve, the Reserve, the Army Reserve (formerly the Territorial Army) and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

10. In no circumstances will service as a cadet under the age of 18 years, or any form of honorary service, be counted as qualifying service.

11. Breaks in Service. All service in the Cadet Forces may be aggregated to fulfil the relevant qualifying period; breaks in service are not to be counted towards the length of qualifying service.

12. Recommendation for Award. Claims for award of the Medal or Clasp(s) are to be submitted on the appropriate application form. Claims must be endorsed personally with a recommendation and certificate that the individual has performed their voluntary duties regularly and to an appropriate standard, is efficient, and is in every way deserving of the award. This endorsement is to be signed by the individual’s commanding officer and not by a subordinate commander. Claims involving awards for unit commanding officers are to be endorsed personally by an appropriate superior officer, not necessarily of the Cadet Forces.

13. Verification and Approval of Awards. Recommendations for an award of the Medal or Clasp(s) are to be forwarded to the following single-Service authorities for verification and approval:

SCC – MSSC Volunteer Support Team

VCC, CCF(RN) and CCF(RM) – HQ Cadet Forces

CCF(A) – RPoC Branch

ACF (Col and Lt Col) – RPoC Cadets Branch

ACF (Maj and below) – Local RFCA

ATC and CCF(RAF) - HQ RAFAC – SO3 Pers Mgt

14. Non-eligibility. Any individual claiming the award of the Medal or Clasp(s) must be above reproach in respect of their conduct and performance throughout their service. Behaviour which brings the Cadet Forces and, by association, the Armed Forces, into disrepute, or which results in a conviction for serious criminal or civil offences, or military offences leading to an entry on the individual’s record of service, may result in that individual’s service up to the date of the entry being deemed to be non-qualifying. Evidence of such conviction or entry on record of service, together with a detailed statement of the offence(s) must accompany any recommendation when the offence has been committed during the qualifying period. All such cases are to be examined by the appropriate single-Service authority, who will rule on eligibility.

15. Presentation of the Medal. Medals and Clasps are to be presented under chain of command arrangements in an appropriate manner that reflects the prestige of the award.

16. Forfeiture and restoration. The appropriate single-Service Medal Board is the authority for forfeiture and restoration of the Cadet Forces Medal and any Clasps awarded. When the conduct of a holder of the Cadet Forces Medal is as described in paragraph 14, or the holder is convicted subsequently by a Civil Court or by Court-Martial and is sentenced to imprisonment for six months or more, or is discharged from the Cadet Forces on administrative or disciplinary grounds, the case is to be reported by the appropriate single-Service authority for a decision to be made by the appropriate single-Service Medal Board as to whether they should be ordered to forfeit the Medal and any Clasps awarded.

17. A recommendation for either forfeiture or not must be reported by the appropriate single-Service authority (as described in paragraph 13). If a recommendation of forfeiture is supported, then a letter from the single-Service authority is to be sent to the appropriate single-Service Medal Board. The letter should contain:

a. A statement giving full details of the offence(s) and, if applicable, details of why the single-Service authority considers forfeiture to be appropriate. In certain high-profile cases, a single-Service authority may wish to state why they do not consider forfeiture to be appropriate.

b. Details of any mitigating factors which should be considered.

c. A firm recommendation by the single-Service authority.

d. Copies of any relevant documentation.

18. If a single-Service Medal Board approves forfeiture, the MOD Medal Office is to place a notice of forfeiture in The London Gazette. A recommendation for forfeiture can be rejected and, if so, the Chairman of the relevant Board is to inform the single-Service authority. Medals are only to be removed from an individual once the final decision is known.

19. Applications from the individual for restoration of the Medal will be considered only after a further 6 years qualifying service following the date of forfeiture. Once the qualifying period has been completed, individuals who have forfeited the Medal may apply to the single-Service authority for the Medal to be restored. Applications supported by the single-Service authority are to be sent by the authority to the appropriate single-Service Medal Board for consideration.