Gulf and Kuwait Medal
The Gulf and Kuwait Medal was a campaign medal created in 1990 to recognize members of the Canadian Forces who had directly participated in the Gulf War, either in the hostilities themselves or during the troop build-up prior to the invasion of Iraq. It is, within the Canadian system of honours, the third highest of the war and operational service medals.
Design
Designed by Bruce W. Beatty, the Gulf and Kuwait Medal is in the form of a diameter rhodium plated tombac disc with, on the obverse, the Latin words ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA and CANADA surrounding an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, symbolizing her roles as both fount of honour and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces. On the reverse is a laurel wreath with a maple leaf at its base encircling the words: GULF AND KUWAIT • 1990-1991 • LE GOLFE ET KUWAIT.This medallion is worn at the left chest, suspended on a 31.8mm wide ribbon coloured with vertical stripes in light blue, scarlet, and dark blue, symmetrically flanking a sand coloured central stripe. Originally, the Gulf and Kuwait medal was to have coincidentally had the same ribbon as the British Gulf Medal; only after the manufacturer of the ribbon informed the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall were the two shades of blue on the Canadian version reversed.
Should an individual already possessing a Gulf and Kuwait Medal be awarded the medal bar for combat service, he or she is granted a clasp in cupro-nickel and bearing a maple leaf for wear on the ribbon from which the original medal is suspended.