The Canadian Forces' Decoration (
post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
"CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the
Canadian Armed Forces
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The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
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who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions.
By convention, it is also given to the
Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
upon his or her appointment as
viceroy
A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...
, which includes the title of
Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada.
The decoration is awarded to all ranks, who must have a good record of conduct during the final eight years of claimed service.
[
The first Governor General to receive the CD was Viscount Alexander of Tunis in 1951.][
]
Criteria
The decoration is awarded to officers and non-commissioned members of the Regular and Reserve forces, including honorary appointments within the Canadian Armed Forces. However, time served while on the Supplementary Reserve List does not apply. The medal may be awarded to persons in possession of any long service, good conduct, or efficiency decoration or medal clasps, provided that the individual has completed the full qualifying periods of service for each award and that no service qualifying towards one award is permitted to count towards any other.
Service in the regular and reserve or auxiliary forces of the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
is counted towards the decoration if the final five years have been served with the Canadian Armed Forces and no other long service, good conduct, or efficiency medal has been awarded for the same service.
Appearance
The medal is decagonal (ten-sided, representing the ten provinces), 36 millimetres across the flats, with raised busts.[ The King George VI medal is .800 fine silver and gilded. The Queen Elizabeth II medal is ]tombac
Tombac, or tombak, is a brass alloy with high copper content and 5–20% zinc content. Tin, lead or arsenic may be added for colouration.
It is a cheap malleable alloy mainly used for medals, ornament, decoration and some munitions.
In older u ...
(a copper-zinc alloy). A gilded copper version was introduced in 2008. The King George VI medal has the uncrowned coinage head of King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
, facing left, with the inscription around the edge. The Queen Elizabeth II medal has the uncrowned coinage head of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
, facing right, with the inscription around the edge with the word ''Canada'' at the bottom. The reverse of the medal has a naval crown, three maple leaves and an eagle representing the navy, army and air force from top to bottom. The word ''service'' is on a scroll at the base and a fleur-de-lis is on each side of the crown. The royal cypher is superimposed on the centre of the King George VI medal, but is omitted from the Queen Elizabeth II medal.[ The King George VI medal has the name and rank of the person to whom the medal was awarded engraved on the reverse of the solid bar while the Queen Elizabeth II medal has the name and rank engraved around the edge of the medal. Early Queen Elizabeth II medals had the letters stamped rather than engraved.][
A clasp, also known as a bar, is awarded for every 10 years of subsequent service.][ The clasp is tombac and is high, has the Canadian coat of arms in the centre surmounted by a crown, and is gold in colour. This is indicated on the undress ribbon by a rosette.][
Recipients of the Canadian Forces Decoration are entitled to use the ]post nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
"CD". This post-nominal is not affected by the awarding of clasps.[
]
Further reading
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Notes and references
External links
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View Decoration
{{Canadian Honours System
Military awards and decorations of Canada
Awards established in 1949
1949 establishments in Canada
Long and Meritorious Service Medals of Britain and the Commonwealth