a. Authorization. E.O. 13289 of 12 March 2003.
b. Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Eligibility Requirements
(1) Service in direct support of the Global War on
Terrorism by military personnel deployed abroad for designated
operations in a specified area of eligibility (AOE). The period
of eligibility is 11 September 2001 to a date to be determined.
(2) Service members must be assigned, attached, or
mobilized to a unit participating in designated operations for
30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days, or meet one of the
following criteria:
(a) Be engaged in actual combat against the enemy,
regardless of time in the AOE.
(b) Be wounded, killed, or injured requiring medical
evacuation from the AOE, while participating in the designated
operation, regardless of time in the AOE.
(c) Participate as a regularly assigned aircrew
member flying sorties into, out of, within, or over the AOE in
direct support of the designated operations. Each day that one
or more sorties are flown, into, out of, within, or over the AOE
shall count as one day towards the 30 or 60-day requirement.
c. Designated Operations. The initial approved operations
are Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. SECDEF, in
consultation with the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS),
has the authority to designate future operations as eligible for
award of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
(GWOTEM)
Requests for future operation designation must be
submitted from the Combatant Commander to SECDEF, via CJCS.
Note: Personnel are only eligible for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) for service in
the Afghanistan and Iraq AOEs through 30 April 2005. Qualifying
service after that date will be recognized by the ACM or ICM, as
appropriate.
d. Specified Areas of Eligibility. Appendix B to this
chapter provides a list of the qualifying AOEs. Updated lists
will be posted at https://awards.navy.mil and http://awards.manpower.usmc.mil. Under no circumstances will
units or personnel within the 50 United States or within 200
nautical miles of the shores of the United States be eligible
for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM).
e. Awarding Authority. The Combatant Commanders are the
awarding authority for personnel and units deployed within their
AOEs. U.S. Central Command delegated the authority to award the
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) to U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command (MarCent)
for
units/personnel operating in the MarCent area of operations.
U.S. Pacific Command delegated the authority to award the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM)
to Commander, Fleet Marine Forces Pacific (FMFPac) for
units/personnel operating in the FMFPac area of operations.
(1) Unit commanding officers shall nominate qualified
participating units or personnel, including location within the
AOE and specific dates served in the designated operation, to
the awarding authority, via their appropriate chain of command,
for approval.
(2) Once the awarding authority approves the request,
notification shall be provided to CNO (DNS-35) or CMC (MMMA), as
appropriate, and the units will be added to the Navy and Marine
Corps master lists posted at https://awards.navy.mil and
http://awards.manpower.usmc.mil, respectively.
(3) Commanding officers shall ensure personnel assigned
to qualifying units during the appropriate time period are
issued the medal, and that proper service record documentation
is completed.
(4) For Navy personnel only, the miniature bronze Fleet
Marine Force Combat Operation emblem may be authorized for
qualified personnel who have engaged in actual combat; see
Chapter 1, Article 123.
(5) The DoD has a long-standing policy that U.S.
campaign and service medals shall not be awarded to members of
foreign militaries. Therefore, coalition partners are not
eligible to receive the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM).
f. Medal Election Guidelines
(1) Eligibility for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) for service in
Afghanistan and Iraq terminated on 30 April 2005; beginning
1 May 2005, personnel are eligible only for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) or Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM),
respectively. Personnel who earned the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) for qualifying
service in Afghanistan or Iraq prior to 1 May 2005 shall remain
qualified for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM); however, they may elect to receive the
Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) or Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM) in lieu of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) for such service. The election of the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) or Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM) shall be documented with an appropriate
service record entry signed by the member. Personnel who met
the eligibility criteria for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) and afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM), or the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM)
and Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM), during a single deployment must elect one of these
medals. No individual may be issued both medals for the same
period of service. A period of service is defined as a single
tour or deployment.
(2) Personnel who elect to retain the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM) for
qualifying service in Afghanistan or Iraq prior to 1 May 2005
are eligible to earn the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) or Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM), respectively, for
subsequent deployments within the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM) or Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM) AOE. Under no
circumstances shall an individual be eligible for both medals
for the same action, time period, or service.
g. Subsequent Awards and Battle Stars. Subsequent awards
of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GTOWEM) are not authorized; therefore, service stars are
not authorized. However, the CJCS, upon the request of a
Combatant Commander, may approve battle stars at a future date
to recognize personnel who were engaged in actual combat against
the enemy, under circumstances involving grave danger of death
or serious bodily injury. Commanding officers may identify
units or personnel meeting the criteria for battle stars, and
forward a request to the Combatant Commander for submission to
the CJCS for determination. In addition to the specific unit(s)
and/or individual(s) involved, the request shall contain the
duration of the actual combat and a detailed description of the
actions against the enemy.
GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL ELIGIBILITY AREAS
The geographic locations listed below are currently approved as
eligible for award of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOTEM). The eligibility area includes
all airspace above and water areas adjacent to the landmasses.
Updated lists will be posted at https://awards.navy.mil and
http://awards.manpower.usmc.mil.
Afghanistan
Algeria
Bahrain
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bulgaria (Bourgas)
Chad
Crete
Cyprus
Diego Garcia
Dj ibout i
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Georgia
Hungary
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo (only specified GWOT operations -
not associated with
operations qualifying for the Kosovo Campaign Medal)
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Mali
Mauritania
Niger
Oman
Pakistan
Philippines
Qatar
Romania (Constanta)
Saudi Arabia Somalia
Syria
Tajikistan
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
United States Central Command (less the lower Horn of
Africa)
Uzbekistan
Yemen
In addition, the.following
bodies of water are approved
qualifying areas:
Arabian Sea (north of 10 degrees north latitude and west of
68 degrees longitude)
Bab el Mandeb
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aqaba
Gulf of Oman
Gulf of Suez
Mediterranean Sea (east of 28 degrees east longitude)
Mediterranean Sea (for maritime interception operations,
boarding and searching vessels, in support of the GWOT)
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Strait of Hormuz
Suez Canal
Authorized Devices: Bronze Star, Silver Star |