Diamond Jubilee Medal ?

[Ex-Bay]

A pal of mine (Ex RAF) sent me this. I think it's worth a go:-

This should be passed on to all ex-service folk to sign, 100,000 signatures and the government has to listen!

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/3747


Next year the Queens Diamond Jubilee Medal will be presented to service personnel, emergency service personnel and prison officers with more than five years service.
There are no plans to award the medal to veterans, many of whom have given a lot more than five years service during the reign of Her Majesty.
This petition asks that the medal should also be awarded to veterans who served Her Majesty during her 60 years on the throne.

Please sign it.


[PS. I have]

 

[Kryten]

Signed as requested!

 

[Weebl]

I have to ask why?

The medal, just like the Golden Jubilee one is awarded to those who meet the qualifying criteria, which is serving on a specific date with 5 years service before that.

What would be the point of awarding an anniversary medal to those who are not in on that anniversary and don't have a uniform to wear it on anyway? Is there also a petition to retrospectively award the Golden Jubilee medal to everyone as well?

It is not a medal to say you have served, it is a medal to say you are or were serving on the Queens Diamond Jubilee.

 

[firestorm]

Have to agree with the above. If you're outside the criteria you don't qualify. Sorry.

 

[vim_fuego]

Unless its a campaign or better medal whats the point? I remember when having the last one chucked over the counter at HR at me that I would have rather had a warrant back or something useful...

 

[shettie]

 

[Prudhoe]

Without wanting to expend any of my limited brain power on the rights and wrongs of any particular medal award - what on earth would you do with it if you got it?
Since I have handed in my uniform, my medals have been stuffed in the back of my underpants drawer, and I can't imagine them ever coming out.

 

[muttywhitedog]

...and the cost of providing everyone with this medal could fund a new hospital or two. The vast majority of exes will have no interest whatsoever in having this medal.

If any of the ex-military feel so strongly about having one, i'm sure they'll appear on ebay soon.

 

[Kim Wipe]

Is this not what everyone was wanting the National Defence Medal for? I didn't qualify for the Golden Jubilee, but I can accept I didn't meet the criteria.

 

[Max]

I agree with the whole Why? argument I would rather not have another free medal for turning up I already have 2 and feel the money could definitely be better spent, especially at the moment.

 

[True Blue Jack]

I agree with the whole Why? argument I would rather not have another free medal for turning up I already have 2 and feel the money could definitely be better spent, especially at the moment.

Screw the public purse, my most recent gong has just cost me around £70 altogether and 3 months from now I'll have to fork out another £90 or so for this one. If they then decide to dish out a bit of tin for ELLAMY as well I'm going to have a serious sense of humour failure!

 

[Kim Wipe]

I thought court mounting was covered if you had over 5?

 

[ady eflog]

Only those on QCS or royal duties get court mounting paid for.

 

[Jim_P_Pulfrew]

You can keep the medal, I would only see the benefit (?) on Remembrance Day anyway. If you want something to spend money on for veterans, a national Veterans ID Card is something that they should be looking at.

It would help take us to more like the USA model of Veteran appreciation. Even a 10% discount from or two places to start with would snowball, as companies would soon realise what an untapped market there is if every Veteran carries the card.

I am well aware of the RAFA scheme and others, but a nationally recognised universal issue is what is needed. Put little medal symbols on it if you want and then every time you use it people could see your medal tally if you are that way inclined.

As for getting the medal because I did 29 years out of the sixty Her Majesty has reigned for as my qualification, personally I would feel as cheapened as I hope the people who got campaign medals for propping up the Bubble Club Bar at Akrotiri in 1991 do.

Jimps

 

[CC]

Screw the public purse, my most recent gong has just cost me around £70 altogether and 3 months from now I'll have to fork out another £90 or so for this one. If they then decide to dish out a bit of tin for ELLAMY as well I'm going to have a serious sense of humour failure!

LOL, so will I, a medal for being on holiday in Cyprus for a few weeks, what's that all about???? ;-)

 

[wobbly]

What a complete waste of money. Anyone in today's forces that hasn't already got several campaign medals is a det dodging git. I can understand that it's to celebrate Liz's time on the throne but I would rather get an extra day of leave than have another bit of tin to polish. Or even better, give us a bloody well earned pay rise.

 

[RAF Bird]

What a complete waste of money. Anyone in today's forces that hasn't already got several campaign medals is a det dodging git. I can understand that it's to celebrate Liz's time on the throne but I would rather get an extra day of leave than have another bit of tin to polish. Or even better, give us a bloody well earned pay rise.

Well said. Stuff the medal and give us a payrise. I can only echo every one else's commented here. I didn't qualify for the last Choccy coin and I don't give a toss I've got plenty of medals from doing my job which I'm proud of, not one for being old enough to have been in the RAF for longer.

 

[Climebear]

Anyone in today's forces that hasn't already got several campaign medals is a det dodging git.

I know quite a few people that have done more dets than me; but, becuase they were to the likes of the Falklands (after the 1982 disagreement) and various Gulf States (post IRAQ NFZs) they don't have any campaign medals whereas I have a row full. I wouldn't count them as det dodging - though, to be fair, some of them are gits.

 

[vim_fuego]

Since the OP posted a link to a petition from the 10 Downing street petition site and since once it reaches 100,000 signatures and since serving people find it almost impossible to find a platform to safely demonstrate from without fear of petty reprisal why not start up a petition that asks people to support:

" Would the Government please consider not spending vast amounts of money on a commemorative medal for the Queens Diamond Jubilee but instead use the funds to pay the Armed Forces a desperately needed pay rise"

It's not that the money if divided up amongst all serving members of all the branches the Armed Forces would amount to much but the message it would send would be very very powerful if it attracted more than I would say 20,000 signatures...

Food for thought

 

[MingMong]

Sorry, but I won't be signing this petition.

I left the RAF two years ago, so don't see why I should be entitled to any further medals.
All except one of the medals that I have from my time in the RAF have some meaning to me, except for one. That one is the Golden Jubilee medal. I did nothing to deserve it, other than be in the RAF. They might as well have just given us a new beret badge or something.

What is the fascination with medals? We are not the Americans who give away medals for crossing the road unaided, but it seems that we are heading that way. If you have earned a campaign medal, or even the long gong, then fair enough, but the rest are just worthless trinkets.