Although this medal was originally approved by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 11th December 2018, it was finally authorised by Royal Warrant by His Majesty King Charles III, with awards back dated to cover operations from 11th December 2018.
Personnel must have served 180 days aggregated (not necessarily continuous) service on eligible operations. Additional service up to another 180 days will see individuals receive a bar to the medal, with a maximum of three bars capable of being awarded.
The initial set of operations eligible for the award of the Wider Service Medal were:
Operation AZOTIZE - the UK contribution to the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission
Operation BILOXI - the UK contribution to the NATO Southern Air Policing mission
Operation CABRIT - the forward deployment of UK land forces to Estonia and Poland as part of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence
Operation KIPION - the ongoing UK presence in the Persian Gulf region
Operation ORBITAL - the UK operation to provide training and support to Armed Forces of Ukraine from 2015 to 2022
Operation RELENTLESS - the UK's Continuous At-Sea nuclear deterrent operation
Operation WOODWALL - the UK's forward deployment of two offshore patrol vessels to the Indo-Pacific region.
