Iraq Campaign Medal

Iraq Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
	Obverse and reverse
Type	Campaign medal
Awarded for	Service in Iraq during the Iraq War (from 19 March 2003 to 31 December 2011)
Presented by	U.S. Department of Defense
Eligibility	U.S. military personnel
Status	Inactive
Established	29 November 2004
First awarded	2005 (retroactive to 19 March 2003)
	; Service ribbon and campaign streamer
Precedence
Next (higher)	Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Next (lower)	Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal
Related	Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal

The Iraq Campaign Medal (ICM) was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was created by Executive Order 13363 of U.S. President George W. Bush on 29 November 2004,^[2] and became available for general distribution in June 2005.^[4] The medal was designed by the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry and was awarded during the Iraq War, from 19 March 2003 to 31 December 2011.^[5]

Appearance

The medal is bronze in appearance, 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in diameter. The obverse depicts a north-oriented relief of the map of Iraq, surmounted by two lines representing the Tigris and Euphrates rivers throughout, superimposed over a palm wreath. Above is the inscription "IRAQ CAMPAIGN." On the reverse, the Statue of Freedom surmounts a sunburst, encircled by two scimitars pointing down with the blades crossing at the tips. Below is the inscription "FOR SERVICE IN IRAQ." The medal is suspended from a ribbon 1+3⁄8 inches (35 mm) wide. The stripes of the ribbon invoke the colors of the Iraqi flag and are: 5⁄32 inch scarlet at the edges, followed by 1⁄16 inch white, 1⁄32 inch green, and 1⁄16 inch white. The white is separated by a 5⁄32 inch black with a 7⁄16 inch stripe in chamois in the center.^[5]

Criteria

The Iraq Campaign Medal was awarded to any member of the U.S. military who performed duty within the borders of Iraq (or its territorial waters) for a period of thirty consecutive days or sixty non-consecutive days. The medal was awarded retroactively from 19 March 2003 until the end of Operation New Dawn on 31 December 2011.^[6]

Personnel who engaged in combat with an enemy force, or personnel wounded in combat or wounded as a result of a terrorist attack within Iraq received the Iraq Campaign Medal regardless of the number of days spent within the country.

In addition, each day participating in aerial missions as a "regularly assigned air crewmember of an aircraft flying sorties into, out of, within or over Iraq and in direct support of the military operations" established a single day of eligibility. When the required minimum days of eligibility were accrued, the medal was then awarded.^[7]

The medal was also awarded posthumously to any service member who died in the line of duty within Iraq, including from non-combat injuries such as accidents and mishaps.^[8]^[9]

On 23 April 2012, an order terminating the award of the Iraq Campaign Medal was issued by the Department of Defense. The order is effective to 31 December 2011, the day Operation New Dawn ended.^[1] U.S. military personnel serving inside the borders of Iraq after December 2011 will not be eligible to receive the ICM.^[10]

Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal

The Iraq Campaign Medal replaced the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOT-EM) for service in Iraq from 19 March 2003, through 30 April 2005.^[11] Personnel who previously received the GWOT-EM for Iraq service were given the option to exchange the medal for the Iraq Campaign Medal. The medals were not authorized for the same period of service in Iraq, and any Iraq service which followed the Iraq Campaign Medal's creation was recognized only with the ICM.^[1]

Operation Inherent Resolve

U.S. military personnel serving post-2014 in the Iraq conflict were originally awarded the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal (GWOT-EM) and not the Iraq Campaign Medal as the latter conflict had ended and the former conflict was nameless at the time and the U.S. government did not designate the fighting to be a military campaign.^[12] However, the U.S. government dubbed their operations in Iraq post-2014 as "Operation Inherent Resolve", and in March 2016, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal (IRCM) was created. The IRCM is now awarded to those who have served in missions in Iraq against ISIL from 15 June 2014 to the 30 JUNE 2022.^[11] Those who were awarded the GWOT-EM for serving in Iraq from 15 June 2014 to 30 March 2016, request the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal instead.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]

Campaign phases and devices

The following are the approved campaign phases and respective inclusive dates for the Iraqi Campaign Medal:^[17]^[18]^[19]

Phase	From	To
Liberation of Iraq	19 March 2003	1 May 2003
Transition of Iraq	2 May 2003	28 June 2004
Iraqi Governance	29 June 2004	15 December 2005
National Resolution	16 December 2005	9 January 2007
Iraqi Surge	10 January 2007	31 December 2008
Iraqi Sovereignty	1 January 2009	31 August 2010
New Dawn	1 September 2010	15 December 2011

Examples of campaign stars worn on the Iraqi Campaign Medal service ribbon:

	Any one of the seven phases
	Two of the seven phases
	Three of the seven phases
	Four of the seven phases
	Five of the seven phases
	Six of the seven phases
	All seven phases

The following ribbon devices are authorized for wear on the Iraqi Campaign Medal:^[11]^[10]^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]

Campaign stars (all branches)
Arrowhead device (Army and Air Force)
Fleet Marine Force Combat Operation Insignia (Navy personnel assigned to a Marine Corps unit in combat)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "DoD terminates Iraq Campaign Medal – Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq". Army Times. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Executive Order: Establishing the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals". Georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Army Regulation 600–8–22 Military Awards" (PDF). Army Publishing Directorate. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
^ "Iraq Campaign Medal". edocket.access.gpo.gov. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Iraq Campaign Medal". The Institute of Heraldry. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
^ "MILPER Message 12-148". United States Army. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
^ "Federal Register, Volume 70 Issue 211 (Wednesday, November 2, 2005)". gpo.gov. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
^ "DoD Announces Criteria for Two New Campaign Medals" Archived 30 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine United States Department of Defense 7 April 2005
^ Campaign Stars to Adorn Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals Archived 30 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine United States Department of Defense 7 April 2005
^ ^a ^b "Afghanistan Campaign Medal or Iraq Campaign Medal". Awards and Decorations Branch Article. Army Human Resource Command. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Department of Defense Manual 1348.33, Volume 3" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. 21 December 2016. pp. 43–45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
^ Evans, Garrett (1 October 2014). "Troops not eligible for campaign medal in fight against ISIS". thehill.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
^ Garamone, Jim (30 March 2016). "Carter Announces Operation Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal". DoD News. Washington, D.C.: Defense Media Activity. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
^ Gilkes, Paul (8 April 2016). "Inherent Resolve Campaign medal available to military service personnel". Coin World. p. 2. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
^ "The New Anti-ISIS Medal: A Bit Too Crusadery?". The Atlantic. March 2016.
^ "Navy Awards Precedence Chart". Navy Personnel Command. United States Department of the Navy. 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
^ "Iraqi Campaign Medal – Approved Campaign Phases" (PDF). PRHome.Defense.gov. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
^ "Additional Phases Identified for Iraq Campaign Medal". defense.gov. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
^ "News Release: Additional Phases Identified for Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals". Defense.gov. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
^ Army Regulation 600-8-22 Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ Air Force Instruction 36-2803 Archived 16 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
^ "NAVADMIN 141/08". Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
^ Two Bulls, Richard. "Campaign Stars Established to Recognize Multiple Deployments". Naval Media Center Public Affairs. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
^ Coast Guard Commandant Instruction 1650.25D

v t e United States campaign, expeditionary, and service medals
1862–1906	Civil War Campaign Medal Indian Campaign Medal Dewey Medal Sampson Medal Cardenas Medal of Honor West Indies Campaign Medal Spanish Campaign Medal Spanish War Service Medal Army of Cuban Occupation Medal Army of Puerto Rican Occupation Medal Philippine Campaign Medal Philippine Congressional Medal
1905–1921	China Campaign Medal Navy Cuban Pacification Medal Navy Nicaraguan Campaign Medal Haitian Campaign Medal Dominican Campaign Medal
1911–1941	Mexican Service Medal Mexican Border Service Medal World War I Victory Medal Texas Cavalry Medal Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
1936–1945	Navy Expeditionary Medal Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal Haitian Campaign Medal NC-4 Medal Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal Yangtze Service Medal Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal United States Antarctic Expedition Medal
1942–1949	China Service Medal American Defense Service Medal Women's Army Corps Service Medal American Campaign Medal European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal (Navy) Medal for Humane Action
1953–1999	National Defense Service Medal Korean Service Medal Antarctica Service Medal Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal Vietnam Service Medal Southwest Asia Service Medal Air and Space Expeditionary Service Ribbon Kosovo Campaign Medal Armed Forces Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal
2003–present	Afghanistan Campaign Medal Iraq Campaign Medal Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Korea Defense Service Medal Air and Space Campaign Medal Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal Remote Combat Effects Campaign Medal