The Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan is a campaign medal previously awarded by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom for service by British Armed Forces personnel in support of the post-2001 Afghan War.

Operational Service Medal

The Operational Service Medal (OSM) was established in 1999 to replace the General Service Medal (1962) for all new operations. A separate medal of the same design is awarded for each campaign, differentiated by a distinct ribbon. It has been awarded for four separate campaigns: From 2008, British service personnel could receive the General Service Medal (2008) for participation in smaller operations that do not justify the award of the Operational Service Medal.

Medal

The medal is silver and circular in shape and designed as follows:

Clasps

Clasps awarded with the medal are named either for geographical regions or for specific operations for which the medal is awarded. As of January 2025, two clasps have been authorised with the medal. The "Afghanistan" Clasp is awarded for service specifically in Afghanistan. The "Operation PITTING" Clasp is awarded for service in Afghanistan during Operation Pitting. A silver rosette on the ribbon denotes entitlement to each clasp when no medal is worn. There are four variants of the 'Afghanistan' clasps to date: The medal was also awarded to UK civilians employed on Ministry of Defence contracts in support of the British Forces in Afghanistan. Qualifying criteria are the same as HM Forces. The recipient's name and title (Mr, Mrs etc.) are engraved on the edge of the medal, whereas the military recipients have their rank, name and service number. British Government contractors who worked in Afghanistan but who are ineligible for the Operational Service Medal may be entitled to the Civilian Service Medal (Afghanistan). On 19th January 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced that the members of the Armed Forces who were deployed to Afghanistan in late 2021 in support of Operation Pitting would receive the OSM with the "Operation Pitting" clasp. Personnel already holding the Afghanistan OSM would receive the clasp to add to their existing medals.

Ribbon

The ribbon consists of a broad central red stripe, flanked each side by a stripe of navy blue and one of light blue, to represent the three services, with an outer stripe of light brown, to represent the Afghan landscape.

Qualifying criteria

The criteria for the award of the medal and the clasps are complex and depend on length and area of service: There is no minimum qualifying period for those killed, wounded or disabled during operations, nor where a recipient has been decorated for operational service (including a mention in dispatches or a King’s Commendation). Qualifying service for the Operational Service Medal counts towards the period required to receive the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal.