DoD Still Has Kuwait Liberation Medals for Eligible Troops

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 1996 – Persian Gulf War veterans eligible for the Kuwait Liberation Medal who have not received the award should apply through their service channels.

Defense Personnel Support Center officials in Philadelphia said 131,000 medals remain of the 500,000 presented by the Kuwaiti government in 1991.

For all services except the Marine Corps, eligible troops must provide documents proving they served in Desert Shield or Desert Storm. Eligible Marines must also submit a request for the medal, but a Marine Corps board reviews applications and directly issues the medal from Washington.

Former service members who served in the Persian Gulf may also apply for their awards, according to Dorothy O'Connell, an inventory management specialist with the center's Heraldry Division. "Former service members need to contact their units to apply for the medal," she said. "We do not handle personal requisitions they must take their request to their former unit and submit through channels."

• Served in support of Desert Shield or Desert Storm in one or more eligible areas between Aug. 2, 1990, and Aug. 31, 1991. Those areas include the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Gulf of Aden, portions of the Arabian Sea, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates;
• Had orders assigning or attaching troops to units deployed to Desert Shield or Desert Storm for one or more days;
• Had orders assigning or attaching troops to Navy vessels directly supporting the operation;
• Participated as a crew member in one or more flights directly supporting military operations during the Persian Gulf War or;
• Had temporary duty orders assigning troops to 30 consecutive or 60 nonconsecutive days in the war zone. Approving authorities may waive the time requirement for temporary duty if service members participated in a combat operation.