National Defense Service Medal won’t be awarded after December
By Meghann Myers and Davis Winkie
Sep 6, 09:33 AM
The National Defense Service Medal, awarded to all troops who have served since 9/11, won't be awarded after Dec. 31. (Defense Department)
Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the formal end of combat operations in Iraq, the Defense Department is preparing to truly transition the military out of a wartime posture. Which is to say, the National Defense Service Medal is going back into retirement on Dec. 31.
The award ― affectionately known as the “pizza stain,” which all troops serving since 9/11 have been able to pin on their uniforms after initial training ― won’t be awarded for the foreseeable future.
“Termination is based on the United States no longer conducting large-scale combat operations in designated geographic locations as a result of the terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred September 11, 2001,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote in a memo signed Aug. 30.
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2022/09/06/national-defense-service-medal-wont-be-awarded-after-december/
