{{short description|Award of the United States military}} {{Infobox military award | name = Korea Defense Service Medal | image = Korea Defense Service Medal.png | image_size = | caption = '''[[Obverse and reverse|Obverse]]''' | presenter = [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/134833v2_dodm_2016.pdf|title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912013545/http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/134833v2_dodm_2016.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/134833v2_dodm_2016.pdf |title=Issuances |date=2016 |website=www.esd.whs.mil |access-date=2018-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912013545/http://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodm/134833v2_dodm_2016.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[United States Department of Homeland Security|U.S. Department of Homeland Security]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723556/-1/-1/0/CIM_1650_25E.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904105203/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723556/-1/-1/0/CIM_1650_25E.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |title=Info |date=2017 |website=United States Department of Defense }}</ref> | type = [[Military awards and decorations|Military medal]]<br>[[Service medal]] | eligibility = U.S. military personnel | awarded_for = Service for at least 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days in support of the defense of South Korea. | campaign = | status = Current | description = | clasps = | established = {{start date and age|2002|12}}<ref>[[s:Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009|Pub.L. 107-314]], 116 [[United States Statutes at Large|Stat.]] 2458, [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/3756- 10 USC 3756], [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/6258- 6258] & [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/8756- 8756], enacted December 2, 2002</ref> | firstawarded = February 2003 (retroactive to July 28, 1954) | lastawarded = | total_awarded = | total_awarded_posthumously = | total_recipients = | individual = | higher = [[Global War on Terrorism Service Medal]]<ref name=tioh/> | same = | lower = [[Mexican Border Defense Medal (2025)]]<ref name=tioh/> | related = | image2 = [[File:Korea Defense Service ribbon.svg|125px]] | caption2 = The ribbon | reverse = [[File:Korea Defense Service Medal Reverse.jpg]] }}
The '''Korea Defense Service Medal''' ('''KDSM''')<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/julqtr/32cfr578.33.htm|title=Korea Defense Service Medal.|website=edocket.access.gpo.gov}}</ref> is a [[Awards and decorations of the United States military|military service medal]] of the [[United States Armed Forces]] that was first created in 2002 when it was signed into law by President [[George W. Bush]]. The bill to create the proposal was introduced and championed by Rep. [[Elton Gallegly]] (R-CA) and Sen. [[Jeff Bingaman]] (D-NM).<ref>{{cite web|last=Krupa|first=Dana|title=KDVA Champions|url=http://kdvamerica.org/champs.html|publisher=kdvamerica.org|access-date=11 December 2012|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304133917/http://kdvamerica.org/champs.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Several designs for the medal were proposed; the selected design was done by John Sproston.<ref name="Sproston">{{cite web |url=http://www.dmzwar.com/meaningofthekdsmedal.html |title=Korea Defense Service Medal Meaning and Data from The Institute of Heraldry (US Army) |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414001934/http://www.dmzwar.com/meaningofthekdsmedal.html |archive-date=14 April 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Those awarded the medal are eligible for membership in the [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]] (VFW) as well as the [[American Legion]].
==Criteria== The Korea Defense Service Medal is authorized for those members of the [[United States Armed Forces]] who have served duty in [[South Korea]] in support of the defense of the South Korean state after the signing of the [[Korean Armistice Agreement]]. To qualify for the KDSM, a service member must have served at least thirty consecutive days in the South Korean theater. The medal is also granted for 60 non-consecutive days of service, which includes reservists on annual training in South Korea.
Exceptions are made for the 30/60 days time requirement if a service member participated in a combat armed engagement, was wounded or injured in the line of duty requiring medical evacuation, or participated as a regularly assigned aircrew member in flying sorties which totaled more than 30 days of duty in South Korean airspace. In such cases, the KDSM is authorized regardless of time served in theater.
The Korea Defense Service Medal is retroactive to the end of the [[Korean War]] and is granted to any service performed after July 28, 1954. The [[National Personnel Records Center]] is responsible for verifying entitlement of the KDSM to discharged members of the military who served in South Korea prior to the creation of the KDSM.
As an official [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] exception to policy, service members may be entitled to both the [[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]], and the KDSM for participation in operations in South Korea during the same timeframe between October 1, 1966 and June 30, 1974.
Only one award of the Korea Defense Service Medal is authorized, regardless of the amount of time served in the South Korean theater.
==Appearance== The Korea Defense Service Medal is a bronze medal {{convert|1+1/4|in|mm}} in diameter. The [[obverse and reverse|obverse]] bears a Korean "circle dragon", surrounded by a scroll inscribed ''KOREA DEFENSE SERVICE''. In an earlier design of the medal, the scroll is inscribed ''KOREA DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL''. At the base of the medal are two sprigs, laurel on the left and bamboo on the right. The reverse bears an outline of the [[Korean Peninsula]] surmounted by two crossed swords, pointed up. Around the edge is a decorative circlet with five points.<ref name="tioh">{{cite web |title=Korea Defense Service Medal |url=https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15314&CategoryId=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903210609/https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=15314&CategoryId=4 |archive-date=3 September 2023 |access-date=3 Sep 2023 |website=The Institute of Heraldry |publisher=}}</ref>
The ribbon for the Korea Defense Service Medal is predominantly green and {{convert|1+3/8|in|mm}} wide. In the center is a {{convert|1/4|in|mm}} ultramarine blue stripe, flanked by {{convert|1/16|in|mm}} stripes of golden yellow and white, spaced {{convert|3/32|in|mm}} apart.<ref name=tioh/>
==See also== *[[Military of South Korea]]
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20100301233937/http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=7063 DoD News: DoD Announces Korean Defense Service Medal] (February 2004)
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110616184245/http://www.afpc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7814 Air Force Personnel Center Korea Defense Service Medal]
{{US interservice decorations}} {{United States Campaign Medals}} {{Portal bar|Heraldry|United States}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Aftermath of the Korean War]] [[Category:Awards established in 2004]] [[Category:South Korea–United States military relations]] [[Category:United States service medals]] [[Category:United States campaign medals]]