I also remember the nonesence about Kosovo; my crew flew about a dozen or so missions, totaling well over 150 hours but were one sortie 'short' of the required amount. A harrier mate flew the exact number of trips required, totalled less than 40 hours (lots of airborne scrubs) and hey presto, gets a medal.
I too know of people in a similar situation. Several did more than one stint of flying out there and, like you, did just short of the required number of flights but still clocked up hours into 3 figures! They also fell short of the minimum time in theatre (3 months?) that allowed several groundies to get medals, for getting no closer to the action than a beach in Italy!
I agree that people should be proud to wear their medals. Likewise, HMG should be proud of those that have served and think about the rules relating to when and how medals are awarded. Not all of us whizz about in a fast jet for a couple of hours, so minimum number of sorties flown is an inappropriate way to decide who gets a medal. How about the case where you are shot down on one of your first sorties and spend the rest of a short war as a POW? You did not fly the minimum number of flights and you are returned home just short of the required time in theatre. Would you not get a medal even though you have almost certainly had a harder time than many others?
MadMark!!!
