B. MILPER MESSAGE 98-161, DTG 291530Z Jul 99, SUBJ: Award of the AFEM for Operations in Southwest Asia.

C. HQ, PERSCOM MESSAGE, DTG 121828Z Jun 96, SUBJ: AFEM for U.S. Army Forces Central Command - Qatar in support of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH.

D. MILPER MESSAGE 96-027, DTG 131205Z Nov 95, SUBJ: Termination date for the SWASM and the NDSM and Award of the AFEM for Operation SOUTHERN WATCH.

E. AR 600-8-22, Military Awards, 25 Feb 95.

F. AR 600-8-104, Military Personnel Information Management/Records, 27 Apr 92.

G. AR 670-1, Wear and Appearance of the Army Uniforms and Insignia, 1 Sep 92.

H. AR 680-29, Military Personnel, Organization, and Type of Transaction Code, 1 Mar 89.

1. This message will expire 30 September 2001 or upon release of revision to AR 600-8-22.

2. The Secretary of Defense approved expansion of the Area of Eligibility (AOE) for award of Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for Operation NORTHERN WATCH (ONW) to include members of the U.S. Armed Forces deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The effective date is 1 Jan 97 to a date to be determined.

3. The expanded AOE for ONW includes only the land area within Incirlik Air Base, Turkey; the total land area and air space of the countriesd of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait; and that portion of the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf) that lies West of 56 Degrees East Longitude.

4. Rules. The general requirements for award of the AFEM are as follows:

A. Service member must be a bonafide member of a unit engaged in the operation, or meet one of the following criteria:

(1) Be engaged in direct support for 30 consecutive days in the Area of Operation/Eligibility (or for the full period when an operation is less than 30 days in duration), or for 60 nonconsecutive days provided the support involves entering the Area of Operation.

(2) Be engaged in actual combat, or duty which is equally as hazardous as combat, during the operation with armed opposition, regardless of time in the area.

(3) Participate as a regularly assigned crew member of an aircraft flying into, out of, within, or over the area in support of the military operation.

B. Direct support is defined as services being supplied to the combat forces in the AOE by ground, sea, and air units provided it actually involves entering the AOE.

5. Service members are entitled to only one award of the AFEM for assignments to the following SWA operations: OSW, Maritime Intercept Operation (MIO), Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL (VS), ONW, Operation DESERT THUNDER (ODT), and Operation DESERT FOX (ODF). A second or subsequent award of the AFEM is only authorized to individuals for nonconsecutive and nonconcurrent assignments in separate Areas of Eligibility for which the AFEM has been approved, for example, 1st Award - Operation JUST CAUSE, Panama; 2nd Award - Operation RESTORE HOPE, Somalia; 3rd Award - Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY, Haiti; 4th Award - Operations JOINT ENDEAVOR, JOINT GUARD, JOINT FORGE, Bosnia; and 5th Award - OSW, MIO, VS, ONW, ODT and ODF, SWA. Bronze service stars are worn to denote subsequent awards of the AFEM. Multiple awards of the AFEM for a return assignment/rotation to an approved operation are not authorized (e.g., Somalia's two operations and SWA's six operations). See Ref G for proper wear of the AFEM and bronze service stars.

6. Effective immediately, commanders are authorized to award the AFEM to qualified personnel. Permanent orders are not required. Military Personnel Divisions/Personnel Service Battalions will update Personnel Qualification Records using this message as the authority. The authorized abbreviation used to annotate Section VIII of the ORB and Item 9 of the DA Form 2-1, and the SIDPERS submission code to update the OMF are as follows:

ITEM 9, 2-1/ORB: ARMED-FCS-EXP-MDL
SIDPERS CODE: AE 01-99 (Please note to use applicable code for SIDPERS 2.75 and 3.0)

7. Regarding award of the AFEM for INTRINSIC ACTION (IA) and IRIS GOLD (IG) the following information is provided:

Routine rotations of Exercises IA and IG are not normally authorized the AFEM, however, they are entitled to the AFEM if USCINCENT operationalizes these units during crisis periods. Thus, those forces assigned to IA/IG during the following periods are authorized the AFEM:

(1 Dec 95 to 15 Feb 97)
(31 Dec 97 to 15 Jul 98)
(11 Nov 98 to 22 Dec 98)

8. Veterans and retirees may request award of the AFEM by writing to the National Personnel Records Center, ATTN: Army Reference Branch, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132-5100.

9. For additional guidance please call HQ, PERSCOM (TAPC-PDO-PA), at DSN 221-8700, Comm (703) 325-8700.