The Canine Operational Service Medal was introduced on 8 June 2017 to recognise the contribution Military Working Dogs make whilst serving on operations. The medal forms part of Defence's internal recognition scheme and is not part of the Australian Honours and Awards system. The Australian Defence Force is the first to implement recognition of this nature.
The medal will be awarded to military working dogs who have 30 days service continuous or aggregated on a declared operation.
As this is an internal award, award lists will be generated through relevant units and applications will not be accepted from the general public.
Design
The medal is made from nickel-silver and has been designed to reflect the Australian Defence Force Military Working Dog capability. The obverse (front) features Combat Assault Dog Quake, who was bred by the Air Force Breeding Program and passed training elements to become an Army Combat Assault Dog. Quake died on operations in Afghanistan on 25 June 2012. The reverse (back) features the Australian Defence Force logo.
The ribbon colours represent:
- purple – animals
- green – land
- yellow – loyalty
- blue – sea and sky.
A clasp with the name of the operation for which the award is made is presented with the medal.
A further award of the Canine Operational Service Medal in another area is recognised by the issue of an additional clasp. Additional clasps are worn above previously awarded clasps, in order of date of receipt.
The following clasps have been issued for the medal:
- East Timor
- International Coalition Against Terrorism
- Iraq 2003
- Solomon Island II
- Timor-Leste
- Greater Middle East operations.