A group of vets are raising money to pay for a medal the Iraqi government awarded them, but never de

[douglas9]

In June 2011 Iraq's defense minister announced that U.S. troops who had deployed to the country would receive the Iraq Commitment Medal in recognition of their service. Eight years later, millions of qualified veterans have yet to receive it.

The reason: The Iraqi government has so far failed to provide the medals to the Department of Defense for approval and distribution.

A small group of veterans hopes to change that.

On Aug. 11, Ed Mahoney, an Iraq war veteran who served in Fallujah and Al Assad, Iraq, between 2008 and 2009, launched a Kickstarter campaign aimed at raising funds to make a small order of awards, with the hope the Pentagon will consider approving the award if service members and vets are willing to pay to have it made.

Though the medal remains unapproved for wear by the Pentagon, if it were ever given the go ahead, the requirements are that: "one must have served for 30 consecutive days or for 60 non-consecutive days within the borders of Iraq, within its territorial waters, or within its airspace during the period of March 19, 2003 to December 31, 2011," according to the Kickstarter page.

https://taskandpurpose.com/iraq-commitment-medal-kickstarter

Troops Who Deployed to the US-Mexico Border Are Getting a Medal


https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/08/19/troops-who-deployed-us-mexico-border-are-getting-medal.html

[rampartc]

1. if the iraqis ever actually award the medal an appropriate entry will be made

on their service record.

if not, it is no big deal. sounds like a "participation trophy" for just showing up.

[Aristus]

2. I'm guessing Iraq doesn't have the resources to strike and award the medal.

Less likely, but still plausible, I suppose, is that now our government doesn't want any reminders of what a colossal fuck-up the blitzkrieg of Iraq was.

I was awarded the Liberation of Kuwait medal by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for my service in the Gulf in 1991. I never even knew there was such a medal, or plans to award it, until about a year after the war, my CO went around to the guys who had been there, handing out the green medal case. Saudi Arabia had limitless funds to design, strike, and distribute the medal. I'm guessing Iraq doesn't. Not after fifteen years of occupation.