Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2015 to Question 221266, what steps his Department took to inform all those members of the UK Armed Forces who served with the British Detachment in Sarajevo during the qualifying period of their eligibility to receive the medal, including those who had left the Armed Forces.
Answered by Anna Soubry
UK Service personnel were not additionally eligible for the UNPROFOR Medal, the United Nations Special Service Medal, the NATO Medal, or the WEU Mission Service Medal in respect of the same period of operational service. Permission to accept and wear more than one of these medals will have been granted only when each period of qualifying service could be clearly differentiated. Concurrent qualification was not admissible.
Applications to receive the UN Special Service medal within 12 months of leaving theatre was a directive issued by the United Nations, to which the UK was obliged to adhere.
Information regarding eligibility to receive the medal in recognition of Service with the British Detachment in Sarajevo was originally promulgated to Armed Forces personnel and Ministry of Defence staff through Defence Council Instructions. This was the usual method of issuing instructions and guidance pertaining to medals at that time. For those who had already left service, information was available from their relevant medal office or Regimental Association.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2015 to Question 221266, for what reasons applications to receive the UN Special Service medal can only be made within 12 months of leaving theatre.
Answered by Anna Soubry
UK Service personnel were not additionally eligible for the UNPROFOR Medal, the United Nations Special Service Medal, the NATO Medal, or the WEU Mission Service Medal in respect of the same period of operational service. Permission to accept and wear more than one of these medals will have been granted only when each period of qualifying service could be clearly differentiated. Concurrent qualification was not admissible.
Applications to receive the UN Special Service medal within 12 months of leaving theatre was a directive issued by the United Nations, to which the UK was obliged to adhere.
Information regarding eligibility to receive the medal in recognition of Service with the British Detachment in Sarajevo was originally promulgated to Armed Forces personnel and Ministry of Defence staff through Defence Council Instructions. This was the usual method of issuing instructions and guidance pertaining to medals at that time. For those who had already left service, information was available from their relevant medal office or Regimental Association.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2015 to Question 221266, whether UK Armed Forces who served with the British Detachment in Sarajevo during the qualifying period are eligible to receive the UN Special Service medal in addition to their UN Bosnia medal.
Answered by Anna Soubry
UK Service personnel were not additionally eligible for the UNPROFOR Medal, the United Nations Special Service Medal, the NATO Medal, or the WEU Mission Service Medal in respect of the same period of operational service. Permission to accept and wear more than one of these medals will have been granted only when each period of qualifying service could be clearly differentiated. Concurrent qualification was not admissible.
Applications to receive the UN Special Service medal within 12 months of leaving theatre was a directive issued by the United Nations, to which the UK was obliged to adhere.
Information regarding eligibility to receive the medal in recognition of Service with the British Detachment in Sarajevo was originally promulgated to Armed Forces personnel and Ministry of Defence staff through Defence Council Instructions. This was the usual method of issuing instructions and guidance pertaining to medals at that time. For those who had already left service, information was available from their relevant medal office or Regimental Association.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2015 to Question 220486, how Royal Navy and Army personnel who served with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees detachment in Sarajevo can claim the UN Special Service Medal.
Answered by Mark Francois - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Eligible Service personnel can no longer claim the UN Special Service Medal. The eligibility for this medal commenced on 3 July 1992 and ran until 12 January 1996. Applications for this medal could only be made within 12 months of leaving theatre.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2015 to Question 219981, what arrangements were put in place to inform qualifying servicemen and women of their eligibility to receive the UN Special Service medal for the Sarajevo Airlift; whether they are allowed to wear that medal; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Julian Brazier
The information was originally promulgated to Armed Forces personnel and Ministry of Defence staff through Defence Council Instructions (DCIs). This was the usual method of issuing instructions and guidance pertaining to medals at that time.
Her Majesty authorised the acceptance and wear of categories 2 and 3 of the UN Special Service Medal for the Sarajevo Airlift. Category 2 medals were awarded to personnel who served on the ground for 90 days or more with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) detachments at Ancona, Split and Zagreb. Category 3 medals were awarded to aircrew that completed 100 landings at Sarajevo.
Detailed information on the rules governing the wearing of medals can be found in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 761 - Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces, which is available on-line at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/honours-and-awards-in-the-armed-forces-jsp-761
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2015 to Question 219980, what rules relating to the wearing of medals govern those UK servicemen and women who served in (a) Sarajevo and (b) other areas of the former Yugoslavia that were subject to both UN and NATO mandates.
Answered by Julian Brazier
The information was originally promulgated to Armed Forces personnel and Ministry of Defence staff through Defence Council Instructions (DCIs). This was the usual method of issuing instructions and guidance pertaining to medals at that time.
Her Majesty authorised the acceptance and wear of categories 2 and 3 of the UN Special Service Medal for the Sarajevo Airlift. Category 2 medals were awarded to personnel who served on the ground for 90 days or more with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) detachments at Ancona, Split and Zagreb. Category 3 medals were awarded to aircrew that completed 100 landings at Sarajevo.
Detailed information on the rules governing the wearing of medals can be found in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 761 - Honours and Awards in the Armed Forces, which is available on-line at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/honours-and-awards-in-the-armed-forces-jsp-761
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what rules govern the wearing of a NATO medal for service in former Yugoslavia by UK service personnel who served in Bosnia during the UN mandate but while NATO was providing air cover.
Answered by Anna Soubry
Between 1992 and 2002, members of the UK Armed Forces served in the former Yugoslavia under the command of the UN Protection Force or NATO. UK personnel who served within this period and met the eligibility criteria were entitled to receive either the UN Medal or NATO Service Medal. Eligibility for the UN Medal commenced on 1 March 1992 and ran until 31 December 1995. Eligibility for the NATO Service Medal commenced on 1 July 1992 and ended on 31 December 2002.
UK personnel serving between 1992 and 1995 were not permitted to receive both awards for the same period of service. This would have contravened a central principle of the UK honours system of no double-medalling, which states that only one form of medallic recognition is acceptable for a single period of service. Therefore, personnel serving between 1992 and 1995 received either the UN Medal or the NATO Service Medal, depending on whether they were under UN or NATO command. Personnel serving from 1996 onwards would be entitled only to the NATO Service Medal.
Both medals were approved by Her Majesty to be accepted and worn.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the procedure is for UK servicemen and women to apply for the UN Special Service Medal for the Sarajevo Airlift; and how many service personnel have been awarded that medal.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Sarajevo airlift began in July 1992 and ran until January 1996. Members of the UK Armed Forces who took part in the airlift and met the eligibility criteria were entitled to be awarded the UN Special Service Medal. UN medals are usually awarded in theatre by the UN Commanding Officer. The information on the number of medals awarded in this case could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
UK personnel could also apply to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Medal Office within one year of their return to the UK for the UN Special Service Medal. The MOD Medal Office has issued 67 such medals to UK personnel.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Sir John Holmes' Military Medals Review, published in July 2012, what progress his Department has made in implementing the recommendations in paragraphs 50, 51 and 52 of that review.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The Ministry of Defence accepted Sir John Holmes's recommendations. The Cabinet Office subsequently published guidance in October 2014, which has been agreed by the Honours and Decorations Committee and endorsed by HM The Queen, in relation to the principle of double-medalling and the acceptance of awards by foreign governments. The acceptance and wear of a foreign award by a British citizen is subject to approval by the Sovereign. Decisions of this kind are for the Foreign Secretary in the first instance.
This guidance can be found on the Government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awarding-military-campaign-medals-guidance.
Asked by: Hugh Robertson (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had on allowing the UK service personnel who served in Iraq or Afghanistan to wear the respective NATO medals; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anna Soubry
No such discussions have been held. One of the central principles of the UK honours system is that only one form of medallic recognition is acceptable for a single period of service (no double-medalling). UK awards take precedence over those presented by multinational forces and awards have already been instituted to recognise the service of British personnel in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Therefore UK personnel are not permitted to wear the NATO awards.