Well Nutloose, the whole subject of medals was IMHO rather casually dealt with by the report from Sir John Holmes (?) about two years ago. The report was OK as far as it went but could have had some wider TofRs.
There remains some disquiet re the changes introduced circa 1993 by John Major in an attempt to make everybody equal. In addition, the various long service medals for different types of reserves were not rationalised nor reasons given for not doing so.
The time qualifier for the LS&GCM was brought down from 18 to 15 years many moons ago but the issue of officers' eligibility in a changing world was never properly addressed - one reason apparently being, 'what happens if an officer fails to qualify because the GC bit of his/her service isn't up to the mark'?
The Cadet Forces Medal (CFM) is awarded to uniformed volunteers who become eligible after twelve years (essentially unbroken) service. Certain cadet service can also count and a regular who moves straight into the cadet forces can also count some of their service, as long as it's not also being used for some other long service award. Interestingly, the clasp is sewn directly to the ribbon of the medal, whereas in most other medals, clasps/bars are actually connected to the medal itself.
The award of a CFM is highly prized by volunteers. It's no fun stirring from a warm fireside in the depth of winter and going to a cold wooden hut in some dingy part of town. However, as I suggested in my previous post, there is enormous satisfaction to be had from making a difference to the young people who join the cadets. A callow youth of 13 soon becomes a cadet warrant officer of 20 with a shed load of achievements which most young people can only wonder at.
Old Duffer