@ES
Having myself done medal-earning time alongside many Army officers in an HQ in Afghanistan, sleeping in well-protected accommodation, getting 3 hot meals a day (on proper plates!) and chatting to family members over Wifi while sipping a fresh coffee
I agree with your analysis, but the gap it points to in our decorations system is the lack of an equivalent to the US Combat Infantryman's Badge. The grunts make up a minority of any force package, but usually bear the brunt of the casualties.
And as I pointed out in my OP, campaign medals have been awarded to recognise arduous service in comparatively low-risk settings before: the WW2 Defence Medal (via the 1-year criterion) being one
The Defence Medal was not strictly a campaign medal. It had a sliding scale of criteria for qualification depending on the perceived risk. As an aside, my father qualified for his by taking part in the raids at Bruneval, Dieppe and Lofoten - service that did not qualify for anything else.
EG