The Kuwait Liberation Medal is a medal created in 1994 that was issued by the government of Kuwait to both local and foreign military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf War's "Liberation of Kuwait" campaign phase of 1990 and 31 August 1993.
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Description
The Kuwait Liberation Medal was approved by the Kuwait Council of Ministers for award in five classes, generally according to the rank of the recipient. The medal was offered by the Chief of Staff of the Kuwait Armed Forces on July 16, 1994. A nation of seafarers and ship builders, Kuwait chose as their coat of arms, the traditional dhow. Falconry is the sport of Kings in the Persian Gulf, and the falcon in the arms is seen as a symbol of Kuwaiti prowess. The official symbolism of the colors is that black symbolizes battlefields, white is for deeds, green is for the meadows, and red is for the blood of Kuwait's enemies. ; Fifth Class
Medal: A Bronze medal with enamel, 1 9/16 inches in diameter suspended from a bar by a wreath. The obverse bears the coat of arms of the State of Kuwait. The Coat of Arms consists of the shield of the flag design in color superimposed on a falcon with wings displayed. The falcon supports a disk containing a sailing ship with the full name of the State written at the top of the disk. At the top of the medal is the inscription "1991 LIBERATION MEDAL" in Arabic letters. The reverse side is the map of Kuwait on a rayed background.
Ribbon: The ribbon is the pattern of the flag of the State of Kuwait and consists of three equal stripes 29/64 inch each of the following colors: Old Glory Red 67156; White 67101; and Irish Green 67189. A black trapezium is at the top of the ribbon drape and service ribbon.
Intended for non-commissioned personnel.
; Fourth Class
A dull grey metal medal, suspended from a bar engraved with laurel leaves. The obverse bears a fully sized, five pointed star over a pattern of engraved rays with the centre containing the same falcon and dhow emblem as the fifth class medal and the reverse the same map and rayed background.
Intended for warrant and junior commissioned officers.
; Third Class
A bright gilt medal of similar design to the fourth class medal. The points of the star are considerably rounded and, instead of the rayed background, the medal is pierced between the star and the outer circle.
Medal: A golden star overlaying a laurel wreath. The centre emblem is significantly smaller than for the lower classes of medal. There is Arabic writing above and below the centre emblem. The star is suspended directly from the ribbon, by a ring attached to the wreath.
Ribbon: Of identical pattern to the ribbons for the lower orders, this now bears a miniature of the centre emblem in gold-coloured metal and enamel.
Medal: A neck decoration of large pattern. Similar to the second class medal but the star is enamelled in with red points and a white circle surrounding the centre emblem. The white circle contains a geometric outer pattern in gold and Arabic writing above the centre. Pierced rays, of differing lengths, lie behind the wreath. The star is suspended from its high point.
Ribbon: Similar to that for the lower awards but double ended. No miniature emblem.
The Australian government has decreed that its military personnel may accept their medals as a keepsake, but permission to wear them in uniform has so far been refused. This is because the Kuwait Liberation Medal was approved to wear in uniform prior to the Kuwait issued medal being issued. It was potentially due to a clerical error within the Australian government that medals were issued to serving personnel who had not participated in eligible operations, due to crew change-outs on participating ships.
Canada
The Canadian government has decreed that its military personnel may accept their medals as a keepsake, but permission to wear them in uniform has so far been refused. Four Canadians were permitted by the government of Canada to wear their medals.
France
France accepted all grades version for their personnel according to their rank at the time of Operation Desert Storm, permission to wear them in uniform has been granted.
United Kingdom
The UK's government has decreed that its military personnel may accept their medals as a keepsake but that due to the fact that a UK-created campaign medal, the Gulf Medal, has already been issued, permission to wear the medal or ribbon was denied.
