New Wider Service Medal to recognise Gulf, Indo-Pacific, air policing and Estonia

A number of operations have been singled out for eligibility regarding a new medal that recognises service across the UK Armed Forces.

The Wider Service Medal (WSM) recognises military personnel and civilians who, where the physical risk to life is lower, make a significant contribution to UK missions.

It has now been outlined by the Defence Secretary that Operation Kipion, the Royal Navy's mission in the Gulf and Indian Ocean to ensure the safe flow of oil and trade, qualifies personnel for the medal.

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Grant Shapps also outlined Operation Woodwall, HMS Tamar and Spey's deployment to the Indo-Pacific, and Op Relentless, which sees Royal Navy ballistic missile submarine patrol around the clock, as eligible.

Tri-Service missions to safeguard eastern Europe such as Op Cabrit, where British troops lead a multinational battle group as part of the enhanced Forward Presence, and Op Orbital, which sees the UK train Ukrainian personnel, will also see troops eligible for the Wider Service Medal.

Finally, Operation Azotize, the air policing mission in the Baltics, and Op Biloxi, the air policing mission in Romania, are also confirmed.

To be eligible for the medal, personnel must have completed 180 days of aggregated service on one of the named operations since 11 December 2018.

This date was selected as it was the day the late Queen Elizabeth II approved the new decoration in principle.

The first WSMs will be presented early this summer to a representative sample of recipients. The medal will then enter mass production in the autumn, when it will be issued more widely.

All personnel who qualify for the WSM will be notified in the usual manner. 

Other operations are currently under consideration to qualify as eligible for the awarding of the WSM.

The medal is being introduced to recognise the changing nature of operational activity, whereby personnel are increasingly deployed or used to deliver operational impact but not necessarily in roles that expose them to physical risk.

The design of the medal features a Tudor crown, symbolising the Sovereign, directional arrows depicting reach across the world and a laurel wreath that symbolises service and achievement.

Surrounding the Tudor crown on the front of the medal are the words "for wider service".

The ribbon has a central stripe of purple, with four narrow stripes on either side in white, light blue, dark blue and green.

The ribbon is designed to reflect the joint cross-Government nature of operations (purple), on land (green), on the sea (dark blue) and in the air (light blue).