Having yet to receive mine and seeing our top brass wearing one is an overstated embarrassment. 15 years is a long wait for a "shiny" to arrive from a gov't that refused the gong in the first place, the embassy lost them initially. The process to receive it is long and arduous, having to register and wait. I spent days in Kuwait City, the day after the ceasefire, having to endure the faces of a proud people ask for water. I got Scudded in Riyadh. And I have to wait for my kudos? But I'm a proud soldier who asks not for his Laural's.
What also irks me is the fact that many aircrew only had to fly into the zone
once and they get one. Albeit without bar that denotes being there during hostilities. The Sailors out to sea did an excellent job of providing AOR support and interventions, that was commended by the Americans. Our fighters pilots also did an outstanding job in the air, only to get lambasted in the media when they actually did their job and shot one down! I was part of the Canadian Field Hospital "up north" which very few people knew about or cared about. That was the "army's" contribution. Accordingly, our doctors and medics did an outstanding job of providing medical support to allied and "opposing force" troops. The new medal will be placed alongside my other one from the Saudi King, in a shadow frame on my "hero wall"!
That's just my humble opinion
![Canadian :cdn: :cdn:](/forums/data/assets/smilies/sm_canada.gif)
for this, we fight