The first medal recognising service on Operation ACCORDION was presented to Air Force personnel during a parade at Camp Baird, Middle East on 26 September 2014.
About 80 members from Combat Support Unit (CSU) Rotation 11 were presented the Australian Operational Service Medal - Greater Middle East Operation (OSM) in the final weeks of their deployment to Joint Task Force 633.
FLTLT Lisa Power, a personnel capability officer from CSU, was the first person to receive the newly created medal.
“The more I think about it the more it seems like a bit of an honour to get the first one,” she said. “I have been deployed before so there was no expectation I’d be getting anything this time.”
MAJGEN Craig Orme, Commander of Joint Task Force 633, was on hand to present several of the new medals to CSU personnel.
“You’re the first ones to receive this OSM in a long list of people that will come in the future,” he said.
“You’ve been an integral part of the efforts to bring another Middle Eastern operation [Iraq] online.”
CSU personnel had their deployment extended by six weeks to support the influx of personnel and aircraft preparing for potential operations in Iraq and are due home in mid-October.
The Australian Operational Service Medal - Greater Middle East Operation recognises service on Operations ACCORDION and MANITOU from 1 July 2014.
To receive the medal, personnel must complete 30 days service, continuous or aggregated, in either operation.
