The Star of Gallantry (SG) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

(ADF) and other persons recognised by the

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. It is awarded for acts of great heroism or conspicuous gallantry in action in circumstances of great peril. It is the second highest of the military gallantry awards in the

Australian Honours System The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...

, only surpassed by the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Victoria Cross for Australia The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons w ...

(VC).

Background

The SG was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial equivalents, (the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

and the

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awa ...

Air and Naval), as second level awards to Other Ranks and ratings. The SG also replaced the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

, in its role as an award to officers for gallantry. The SG has no rank requirements and all service personnel are eligible. The UK equivalent is the

Conspicuous Gallantry Cross The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) is a second level military decoration of the British Armed Forces. Created in 1993 and first awarded in 1995, it was instituted after a review of the British honours system to remove distinctions of rank in ...

(CGC) and the US equivalents are the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

and Air Force Cross. Recipients of the Star of Gallantry 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, ...

"SG". Recipients of the award are normally announced in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Since its inception eight awards have been made.

Government allowance

The Veteran's Entitlements Act 1986 Section 102 specifies that the Repatriation Commission may grant an allowance of A$2.10 per fortnight to veterans, serving members of the

, and members of Peacekeeping Forces who have been awarded the Star of Gallantry, or other "eligible decorations" specified in Section 102.

Description

* The Star of Gallantry is a gold-plated silver

Federation Star The Commonwealth Star (also known as the Federation Star, the Seven Point Star, or the Star of Federation) is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901. Six points of the Star represen ...

ensigned with the Crown of Saint Edward. The obverse displays a smaller

, which is surrounded by stylised flames. This image represents action under fire. * The reverse shows a horizontal panel superimposed on a stepped background. * The medal is suspended from a 32 millimetre-wide ribbon by a narrow bar, which is engraved with the words "For Gallantry". The ribbon has a design of chevrons of light orange alternating with chevrons of deep orange angled at 60 degrees.

Recipients

Since its inception, eight awards of the Star of Gallantry have been made: # On 26 November 2006, a soldier identified only as Sergeant A from 4RAR (Commando) became the first recipient of the Star of Gallantry. ''Sergeant A'' was awarded the medal for his actions whilst assisting with the extraction of threatened coalition forces in

Orūzgān Province Uruzgan (Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as th ...

, Afghanistan. The medal was presented by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Michael Jeffery Major General Philip Michael Jeffery, (12 December 1937 – 18 December 2020) was a senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He was the 28th governor of Western Australia from 1993 to 2000, and the 24th governor-general of ...

. # On 18 August 2008, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith was awarded the decoration for his leadership and gallantry during the

Battle of Long Tan The Battle of Long Tan (18 August 1966) took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units ...

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Smith was originally recommended for the

following the battle, but this was subsequently downgraded to the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. The award of the Star of Gallantry to Smith came as a result of several years of campaigning to the Australian Government resulting in an independent review which recommended the award. # On

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

2010, special forces soldier Private S received the Star of Gallantry "for acts of conspicuous gallantry in action in circumstances of great peril while a lead scout in Afghanistan in 2008": "Private S' gallantry ensured the safety of his team, neutralised the enemy and achieved mission success. Private S, as the lead scout of his team, was heavily engaged at close quarters with automatic fire and rocket propelled grenades by a well armed and determined insurgent force. He displayed complete disregard for his personal safety by moving to an exposed firing position in order to fire and throw grenades to suppress enemy within 30 metres of his position. His selfless act enabled the rest of his team to fire and manoeuvre to regain the initiative and neutralise the enemy. His efforts are in the finest traditions of the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force." # On Australia Day 2011, special forces soldier Sergeant P received the Star of Gallantry "For acts of conspicuous gallantry in action in circumstances of great peril while on Operation SLIPPER in Afghanistan" in June 2010 during the

Shah Wali Kot Offensive The Shah Wali Kot Offensive was a five-day joint operation during the War in Afghanistan, conducted by Australian special forces and the Afghan National Army with US air support, between 10–14 June 2010. The operation took place in the Shah W ...

. # On 13 June 2011, special forces soldier Sergeant D was awarded the Star of Gallantry in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for "conspicuous gallantry in circumstances of great peril" while serving with the Special Operations Task Group. �
pdf version
84MB. # On 13 June 2011, special forces soldier Private S was awarded the Star of Gallantry in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for "conspicuous gallantry in circumstances of great peril" while serving with the Special Operations Task Group. # On 9 June 2014, special forces soldier Private B was awarded the Star of Gallantry for "conspicuous gallantry in action in circumstances of great peril while on operations on Operation SLIPPER". # On 17 July 2017, Captain Raymond Jesse Allsopp was awarded the Star of Gallantry for gallantry during Operation Oboe Two in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A

Medical Officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, Allsopp served with the 2/5th Commando Squadron and was killed in action at Balikpapan, on 1 July 1945. The award was made 72 years after Allsopp's death following a review by the Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, which upgraded his previously awarded

Mention in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

to a Star of Gallantry.

References

External links

It's an Honour
{{Australian Honours System * 1991 establishments in Australia Courage awards Military awards and decorations of Australia Awards established in 1991