Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced details of the eligible personnel who will receive a new medal to mark the campaign to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria…

Under new rules, personnel from all three services serving from outside the traditional area of operations, such as operators of RAF Reaper remotely piloted aerial systems, will receive the Operation Shader medal without clasp. The announcement came as Mr Williamson attended a meeting of defence ministers in Munich from nations within the Global Coalition against Daesh.

The award of the medal reflects the changing nature of modern conflict and recognises the vital contribution that personnel working from outside the operational area of Iraq and Syria have made to the campaign. The personnel to be awarded the Op Shader medal without clasp include RAF Reaper crews, based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, US. This is the first time that Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems crews have received formal medallic recognition.

The changing character of warfare means that personnel based outside an area of military operations increasingly play a vital role in allowing the UK to be successful militarily overseas. For example, ground crew based at RAF Akrotiri play a key role in ensuring that RAF Tornado and Typhoon fast-jets are able to conduct air strikes over Iraq and Syria, through their maintenance, engineering and weapons technician skills.

Last year Her Majesty The Queen approved the extension of the eligibility criteria for the medal to new groups of personnel. The Op Shader medal is the first operational service medal to be created since 2003 and has its own distinct ribbon; it is fitting recognition of those who have contributed to the fight against Daesh. Operation Shader is the name of the UK’s military contribution to the campaign to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

The Defence Secretary said: “The expanded medal criteria means that those personnel who have played a vital role in defeating Daesh but have been based outside the conventional area of operations will receive the recognition they deserve. This new medal reflects the changing character of warfare. I am very pleased that personnel who previously would not have received an operational medal, will now do so.”