TAPC-PDO-PA MILPER MESSAGE 00-202 NATO MEDAL
DTG:230840ZJUN00
1. THIS MESSAGE WILL EXPIRE 30 JUNE 2002.
2. THE SECDEF HAS APPROVED THE ACCEPTANCE AND WEAR OF THE NATO MEDAL FOR OPERATIONS RELATED TO KOSOVO. THIS MEDAL IS AUTHORIZED FOR U.S. MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
3. ELIGIBILITY. TO QUALIFY FOR THE AWARD OF THE NATO MEDAL FOR KOSOVO, U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL MUST COMPLETE THE QUALIFYING PERIOD OF SERVICE AND MEET THE FOLLOWING SERVICE STATUS CRITERIA:
A. PARTICIPATION IN NATO OPERATIONS RELATED TO KOSOVO FROM 13 OCTOBER 1998 TO A DATE TO BE DETERMINED FOR 30 DAYS (CONTINUOUS OR ACCUMULATED) IN THE AREA OF ELIGIBILITY (AOE). THE AOE IS ON THE LAND, AT SEA, OR IN THE AIR SPACE OF KOSOVO AND OTHER TERRITORIES OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA (FRY) (FRY IS SERBIA, MONTENEGRO, CROATIA, BOSINA AND HERZEGOVINA, AND SLOVENIA); ALBANIA, MACEDONIA; AND THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN SEAS; OR 90 DAYS (CONTINUOUS OR ACCUMULATED) IN DIRECT SUPPORT OF NATO OPERATIONS WITHIN THE TERRITORIES OF ITALY, GREECE, AND HUNGARY.
B. AIRCREW WHO PARTICIPATED IN OPERATION ALLIED FORCE BETWEEN 24 MARCH 1999 AND 10 JUNE 1999 ARE DEEMED QUALIFIED FOR THE MEDAL AFTER FLYING 15 SORTIES DURING THE OPERATIONS IN THE AIRSPACE OF KOSOVO AND THE OTHER TERRITORIES OF FRY. AIRCREW WHO COMPLETED LESS THAN 15 SORTIES UNDER THIS CRITERIA WILL BE ALLOWED TO AGGREGATE THE NUMBER OF SORTIES COMPLETED WITH ANY QUALIFYING SERVICE COMPLETED UNDER THE CRITERIA SET OUT IN PARAGRAPH 3A ABOVE.
C. AIRCREW WHO DO NOT QUALIFY UNDER PARAGRAPH 3B ABOVE WILL ACCUMULATE ONE DAY OF QUALIFYING SERVICE FOR THE FIRST SORTIE FLOWN ON ANY DAY. ADDITIONAL SORTIES FLOWN ON THE SAME DAY RECEIVE NO FURTHER CREDIT. THIS REQUIREMENT EXISTS FOR SUPPORT AS WELL AS COMBAT AIRCRAFT. SUPPORT AIRCRAFT ARE TANKER, AIRLIFT, AND SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT.
D. SERVICE MEMBERS WOUNDED OR INJURED AND SUBSEQUENTLY REQUIRE EVACUATION FROM THE DEFINED AREA OF ELIGIBLITY, REGARDLESS OF TIME IN THE AOE, QUALIFY FOR THE NATO MEDAL FOR KOSOVO.
E. DIRECT SUPPORT INCLUDES THOSE FUNCTIONS THAT PROVIDE SUBSTANTIVE CONTRIBUTION TO MISSION ACCOMPLISHMENT AND WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PERFORMED IN THE ABSENCE OF THE NATO OPERATIONS IN THE AOE DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH A ABOVE.
4. WHILE THE NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL OFFERED A SECOND NATO MEDAL FOR KOSOVO ONLY ONE NATO MEDAL IS AUTHORIZED FOR WEAR BY U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL. WEAR OF BOTH NATO MEDALS IS PROHIBITED. THEREFORE, SERVICE MEMBERS WHO WERE AWARDED THE NATO MEDAL FOR OPERATIONS RELATING TO THE REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA (REFERENCE ALPHA) AND ARE NOW ELIGIBLE FOR THE NATO MEDAL FOR OPERATIONS RELATING TO KOSOVO WILL WEAR A BRONZE SERVICE STAR ON THE NATO MEDAL YUGOSLAVIA. SERVICE MEMBERS, REGARDLESS OF MULTIPLE ROTATIONS/TOURS TO EITHER OR BOTH NATO OPERATIONS WILL WEAR ONLY ONE NATO MEDAL AND ONE BRONZE SERVICE STAR AS CITED ABOVE. SERVICE MEMBERS ARE NOT AUTHORIZED WEAR OF NUMBERIC SYMBOLS ON EITHER NATO MEDAL.
5. NATO HQ INTERNATIONAL MILITARY STAFF (IMS) IS THE FINAL APPROVAL AUTHORITY FOR AWARD OF THE NATO MEDAL. SHAPE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF STAFF (ACOS) ACE RESOURCES/RMM WILL ADMINISTER ALL ASPECTS FOR AWARD OF THE NATO MEDAL FOR KOSOVO.
6. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, UNIT COMMANDERS WILL SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST THROUGH THEIR NATO CHAIN OF COMMAND (KFOR, PCC SHAPE, ETS).
A. THIS REQUEST WILL INCLUDE A 3.5 INCH DISKETTE LABELED WITH THE REQUESTING COMMAND MAILING ADDRESS, NUMBER OF MEDALS REQUESTED AND DISKETTE'S FILE(S) NAMES. THE DISKETTE WILL LIST QUALIFIED PERSONNEL IN EXCEL 5.0 COLUMN FORMAT WITH THE FOLLOWING REQUIRED INFORMATION: SSN, NAME, RANK (ABBREVIATED); NATION (ABBREVIATED); SERVICE (ONE LETTER: C FOR CIVILIAN); DEPLOYED UNIT NAME; LOCATION UNIT SERVED IN THE THEATER; NUMBER OF DAYS CLAIMED TOWARDS ELIGIBILITY (30 - 90). (TITLE COLUMNS AS FOLLOWS: SSN, NAME, RANK, NATION, SERVICE, UNIT, LOCATION, AND DAYS).
B. ENDORSED CORRESPONDENCE WITH DISKETTE SHOULD BE MAILED TO ACE RESOURCES/RMM, SHAPE, 7010 MONS, BELGIUM. QUESTIONS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ACE RESOURCES AT DSN 423-3638 OR 4117.
7. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION OUTLINES INSTRUCTIONS FOR WEAR, ORDER OF PRECEDENCE, RIBBON CLASP, AND SUBSEQUENT AWARDS.
A. PRECEDENCE. THE NATO MEDAL WILL HAVE THE SAME PRECEDENCE AS THE UNITED NATIONS MEDAL, BUT WILL RANK IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE UNITED NATIONS MEDAL WHEN THE WEARER HAS BEEN AWARDED BOTH DECORATIONS.
B. RIBBON CLASP. THE NATO MEDAL PRESENTATION SET MAY INCLUDE A RIBBON CLASP DENOTING THE SPECIFIC OPERATION FOR WHICH THE AWARD WAS MADE. US SERVICE MEMBERS ARE AUTHORIZED TO RETAIN THE RIBBON CLASP IF PRESENTED; HOWEVER, THE WEARING OF THE RIBBON CLASP WITH THE NATO MEDAL OR SERVICE RIBBON IS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR US SERVICE MEMBERS. US SERVICE MEMBERS MAY WEAR ONLY THE BASIC MEDAL OR SERVICE RIBBON.
C. SUBSEQUENT AWARDS. TO RECOGNIZE SUBSEQUENT AWARDS(IF APPROVED BY THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE) FOR SERVICE IN A DIFFERENT NATO OPERATION, US SERVICE MEMBERS WILL AFFIX A BRONZE STAR TO THE NATO MEDAL SUSPENSION RIBBON AND SERVICE RIBBON.
8. THE NATO MEDAL IS CATEGORIZED AS A FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL SERVICE MEDAL. PERMANENT ORDERS ARE NOT, REPEAT, ARE NOT REQUIRED. MILITARY PERSONNEL DIVISIONS/PERSONNEL SERVICES BATTALIONS MAY UPDATE PERSONNEL QUALIFICATION RECORDS USING THIS MESSAGE AS AUTHORITY. THE AUTHORIZED ABBREVIATION TO ANNOTATE SECTION VIII OF THE ORB AND ITEM 9 OF THE DA FORM 2-1, AND SECTION "E" OF THE ERB, AND THE SIDPERS SUBMISSION CODE TO UPDATE THE OMF ARE AS FOLLOWS:
ITEM 9, 2-1 AND ORB; SECTION "E", ERB
ABBREV: NATO MDL DATA CODE: NT
9. THIS MESSAGE CONSTITUES HQ, PERSCOM APPROVAL AUTHORITY FOR ELIGIBLE SOLDIERS TO ACCEPT AND WEAR THE NATO MEDAL IAW PARA 9-8, AR 600-8-22. INSTALLATION/FIELD AGENCIES AND SOLDIERS MUST CONTACT THEIR RESPECTIVE MACOMS OR PERSONNEL SERVICES BATTALIONS.
10. POINTS OF CONTACT ARE MRS. KING AND SFC DANSBY, DSN 221-4761, COMM (703) 325-4761.