Originally Posted by
ExGrunt
The Defence Medal was not strictly a campaign medal. It had a sliding scale of criteria for qualification depending on the perceived risk.EG
Agreed that it was not strictly a campaign medal. I hope that the outcome of the further work on SHADER mentioned by CAS is some kind of sub-OSM award (or recalibration of the GSM08 criteria) to encompass the lower-risk activities.
With regard to criteria, risk was not the only factor affecting the time to earn the Defence Medal. The quickest way to earn it was to spend 6 months deployed to an 'at risk' area. The next quickest way was to spend 1 year deployed to a 'not at risk' area. The slowest way was to spend 3 years on active duty in your home theatre, even if that was considered to be 'at risk'. Clearly, there was recognition that time spent away was worthy of recognition, even if there was less risk involved than staying at home.
With further respect for your father's endeavours!