Armed Forces Service Medal

The Armed Forces Service Medal is a service decoration of the U.S. armed forces. It was introduced by U.S. President Bill Clinton in early 1996 and is awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces who provide a "significant performance " ( significant activity ) for which no award was given. Among them is usually the participation in an operation by U.S. armed forces, even as part of a NATO or UN mandate, understood.

Ceremonies consist primarily of the operations Joint Guard and Joint Endeavor during the Bosnian war, but also for humanitarian missions after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita.