The Australian Active Service Medal is an Australian military decoration. It was authorised on 13 September 1988 to recognise prescribed service in "warlike" operations, backdated to February 1975. It is awarded with a clasp to denote the prescribed operation and subsequent awards of the medal are made in the form of additional clasps. In 2012, it was announced that the medal would no longer be issued for future operations, with the AASM and the Australian Service Medal being replaced by the Australian Operational Service Medal.
Description
The AASM is a circular nickel-silver medal ensigned with the Crown of St Edward. The obverse has a Federation Star within a wreath of mimosa and bears a laurel wreath surrounding the inscription 'FOR ACTIVE SERVICE'. The medal ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and has a central red stripe to symbolise the danger of warlike operations. It is flanked by stripes of silver-green which in turn are flanked by stripes of light green, gold, dark green and brown. The ribbon bar consists of a strip of full-sized ribbon with no emblem.
Clasps
The following clasps were authorised for issue with the AASM:
Balkans
Cambodia
East Timor
ICAT
Iraq
Iraq 2003
Kuwait
Middle East
Namibia
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Vietnam 1975
Returned from Active Service Badge
Recipients of the Australian Active Service Medal are also entitled to the issue of the Returned from Active Service Badge. The RASB is the only campaign service badge awarded post-World War II. It is worn on the left lapel and only in civilian attire, to reflect that the recipient has been involved in warlike service. The brass badge has a serial number with a prefix denoting the member's service, and has been awarded since 1945 where the only change to its appearance has been the replacement of the King George VI's crown with that of the Queen Elizabeth's. Unlike most awards, the RASB is not issued to deceased members or the next-of-kin, as the badge represents a return from the member's warlike service. The replacement of the AASM with the Operational Service Medal was announced in May 2012; as a result, the RASB has been retired with the AASM, with the Operational Service Badge filling the role of being a badge indicative of a members' warlike service.
Related medals
A separate campaign medal in the Australian system is awarded for major operations and wars, and several – such as the Afghanistan Medal and the Iraq Medal – were issued concurrently with the AASM. These are referenced under their respective clasps, such as the "ICAT" clasp. Personnel who received this medal may also be entitled to receive a service or campaign medal from an international organisation or the host country – such as the NATO Medal – if they meet the eligibility criteria for those medals. These are treated as foreign medals in the Australian system, and if approved for wear on service uniforms, are worn after Australian medals in the order they are received. Recipients of the ASM may be authorised to wear two or three further medals for the same period of service; an Australian campaign medal, a medal from an international organisation and a medal from a host nation. Some of the international and host nation medals have been granted a blanket authority for all recipients to wear. Others are approved on an individual basis.
