The ongoing saga...

...of the Kuwait Medal of Liberation of Kuwait continues to lurch dysfunctionally towards an unsatisfying, but hopefully final, climax.

A former CF member e-mailed me to let me know about his travails applying for the medal - a medal he can't wear with his other decorations, a medal that will go in a display on his wall or a box in his attic:

Hi,

I found your post on "The Torch" dated 18 May 2007 regarding the Kuwait Medal for Liberation of Kuwait.

I was one of the people who received this award. As someone who left DND in 1994, it is important to emphasize how DIFFICULT it is to obtain this medal. Note:

• the Kuwaiti embassy requires a copy of the CF 490 form. That form can be obtained from Library and Archives Canada, but expect a 6 - 9 month delay


• I submitted my form and application, then was told that wasn't sufficient. No reason was given. I was told the only other evidence that would be accepted was a letter from my Commanding Officer


• think about this for a moment: since I left DND in 1994, how I could I ever get a letter from my CO? This is impossible.


• I asked what other evidence might be accepted and was rudely told "if you want this medal you will find a way". After several questions where I tried to determine what would be acceptable, the person I was speaking with HUNG UP THE PHONE ON ME


• in the end, by just good luck, I got a letter from one of the officer's of PROTECTEUR. This seemed to satisfy the requirements.

Be aware that for those who have left DND, getting this medal will be very difficult. The defined criteria for getting the medal are not practical for those who have left DND.

David Cole
Ottawa, Canada.

I replied to David, and in subsequent correspondence, he had this to say:

Another observation was that at the medal awards ceremony here in Ottawa, there were about 160 medals handed out. By my estimate, there were 155 military people, and 5 civilians. Of the 5 civilians, four are currently working for DND. It appears I was the only person who made the effort to apply for this medal as someone outside" DND.

And as I have tried to describe, it took over a year and plenty of work. I think most people simply won't bother given the current process, and that is not right.

After going through our previous posts on the issue here at The Torch, I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that, unless something has changed that I'm unaware of, not one more soul will have to go through what David did to receive his medal from Kuwait.

The bad news is that that's not because they've fixed the Byzantine process to prove you qualify, it's because the deadline for application was December 31st, 2006. If you haven't applied by now, you're SOL anyhow.

What a complete charlie-foxtrot this has been from beginning to end.

Update: BBS sets me straight in the comments:

The news release from the 15th of May stated that the Embassy was extending the deadline indefinitely.

"The initial application deadline of December 31, 2006 has been extended for an undetermined period."

As I said - something about lurching towards an unsatisfying climax...