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Civilian Air Medal


QED4
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Dose any one know anything about the so called Civilian Air Medal, it looks like the military Air Medal except it is silver and the ribbon has more orange stripes. I can find no website that lists them that isn't trying to sell me one so I take their claims with a grain of salt. They are not listed in the Air Force list of civilian awards nor with the CAP or Department of Transportation. Sense civilians are eligible for the military Air Medal why would the silver version even be needed? I am now thinking they are completely bogus, just made up to sell to collectors dose any one have the real story? 

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The "Civilian Air Medal" is a 100% legitimate and a fully documented and recognized award. I have a very good friend who was a 747 Pilot for a civilian airlines who was asked to deliver needed military goods and spare parts for the offensive led by the USA during the original push into downtown Bagdad. That Civilian 747 Crew delivered those incredibly important supplies under the constant threat of small arms fire and hostile crowds while landing and offloading those vital supplies and was subsequently presented a Civilian Air Medal. I've seen and handled the Medal and related paperwork. It's an authentic, just and most deserving token of recognition for Civilian Pilots who have stepped up and filled the void when our military efforts were stretched to the limits.

 

QED4, please dig a little deeper. I'm sure you'll find the documentation you are seeking...  

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On March 17, 1993 the staff of the Secretary of the Air Force recommended that two new Air Force civilian medals be created. This proposal came out of experience in the Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and called for alternative awards for the Air Medal and Air Force Aerial Achievement Medals. The goal was to establish awards that could be presented to members of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) and to civilian contractor personnel.  When the matter was presented to General Merrill A. McPeak, who at that time was the Air Force Chief of Staff, he concurred and proposed that the Air Force develop its own Civilian Air Medal and a Civilian Aerial Achievement Medal to “recognize civilian aircrew members for aerial accomplishment or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight rendered on behalf of the United State Air Force.” In his April 23, 1993 reply to the Secretary of the Air Force, McPeak not only agreed, he took the proposal a step further by recommending that if the Secretary of the Air Force approved the two new decorations, that the Air Force discontinue civilian eligibility for the Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal. On May 4, 1993 Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donely approved McPeak’s recommendations,, and the process of actually obtaining the two medals began.

 

The matter was forwarded to Lieutenant General Billy J. Boles, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel.  Instead of going directly to the Institute of Heraldry for design suggestions (the normal procedure), Boles gave responsibility for coming up with designs to the Air Mobility Command (AMC) at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. In a letter to the AMC Vice-Commander, Boles wrote, “Initially we require suggested designs for the new medals. As these awards would recognize individuals under your operational control, we request AMC provide designs for Air Force consideration.”  AMC was directed to submit its proposed designs no later than August 31, 1993, giving them about one month to complete the process. To their credit, AMC coordinated their proposals with the Institute of Heraldry and provided the designs that were ultimately accepted.

 

The ribbon to the Civilian Air Medal consists of a reversal of the colors of the Air Medal, with the golden orange as the background and the ultramarine blue as the stripes inside the edges of the ribbon. In addition, three stripes of ultramarine blue are added in the center of the ribbon. These pinstripes are one-sixteenth of an inch wide and are separated from each other by 3/32nds of an inch of ultramarine blue.

 

AMC proposed using the same ribbon colors as the Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal, but arranged the colors in different schemes. They likewise proposed using the designs of the Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medal, but gave the medals a pewter finish instead of the bronze finish used by the existing medals. The reverse of the Civilian Air Medal was to be inscribed, CIVILIAN / AIR MEDAL / EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT. The reverse of the Civilian Aerial Achievement Medal was to be inscribed, CIVILIAN / AERIAL / ACHIEVEMENT MEDAL / SUSTAINED MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT.

 

The ribbon to the Civilian Aerial Achievement Medal consists of a central one-sixteenth inch pinstripe of bluebird blue bordered on either side by a quarter inch of golden yellow, a quarter inch of flag blue, and  one-eighth inch edgestripes of bluebird blue.

 

In the meantime, the Air Force Directorate of Plans and Operations was tasked to develop the criteria for the two decorations. The proposed criteria for them mirror the criteria for their companion military awards:

 

Civilian Air Medal: For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight and serving in a civilian capacity with the Air Force or with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. To warrant award of the Civilian Air Medal, the required achievement must have been done with distinction above and beyond the expected responsibility entrusted to civilian participants in Air Force flying.

 

Civilian Aerial Achievement Medal: For sustained meritorious achievement by a civilian while participating in aerial flight with the Air Force or with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. The achievement must have been done with distinction beyond that normally expected. Major Air Commands must identify the missions and positions that quality for this award.

 

Since the establishment of these two medals was essentially steam-rolled from the top down, there appears to have been little if any careful thought given to the actual need for these medals or for the unintended consequences that would occur as a result of their establishment.  As to the question of need, it is clear that the Air Medal and Aerial Achievement Medals could have been awarded to civilians; that had already been established. Why then was it necessary to create two new medals for the same purpose, especially when the new medals had essentially the same names and general appearance? Under General McPeak there was a strong bias against awarding the Air Medal to anyone who was not part of the flight deck of an aircraft. This was what drove the establishment of the Aerial Achievement Medal in the first place. The establishment of the two new decorations simply extended this bias by eliminating the possibility for civilians to receive either the Air Medal or the Aerial Achievement Medal. In addition, one has to question the wisdom of “single service” decorations. If a decoration has a valid purpose, it seems only appropriate  that it apply to all services.

 

One of the unintended consequences of developing these two medals was to render (and keep) them obscure. Although no figures are available on the numbers awarded, it is almost certain that relatively few have been (especially when compared with the Air Medal and the Aerial Achievement Medal). As a result, they are seldom seen and remain virtually unknown.  It is interesting to note that when the Air Force published its Civilian Recognition Guide (Air Force Pamphlet 36-2861) on June 1, 2000 these two medals are not included, although virtually every other Air Force civilian decoration and certificate is (this version is still the most current version available).

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Thanks, that is the definitive answer, I guess I will keep the medal now. I am not surprised to see McPeak's involvement, it sounds like these medals are getting the same treatment as his uniforms, ignore it and hope it goes away. 

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