The Western European Union Mission Service Medal, is an
international military decoration awarded to individuals, who served with
Western European Union
The Western European Union (WEU; french: Union de l'Europe occidentale, UEO; german: Westeuropäische Union, WEU) was the international organisation and military alliance that succeeded the Western Union (WU) after the 1954 amendment of the 1948 ...
(WEU) military missions.
History
The Western European Union was formed by the
Modified Brussels Treaty. Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were the original signers of the treaty. It was further amended by the
Paris Agreements on 23 October 1954, which modified and completed the treaty, adding Germany and Italy to the treaty. Part of this framework was a mutual defence pact amongst the signatories.
The WEU first acted in military operations in the context of the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...
. In 1987, mines were laid in the Persian Gulf, restricting the freedom of navigation in international waters.
[ A joint mine sweeping effort was undertaken by member nations of the WEU.]Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
in 1992. The WEU undertook Operation Sharp Fence starting in 1992, in tandem with NATO who was executing Operation Maritime Guard. WEU and NATO joined their operations together in a single command as Operation Sharp Guard in June 1993.[
]
Appearance
The medal is circular, made of silver-coloured oxidised metal, 36 mm in diameter. The obverse
Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...
of the medal displays the letters ''WEU'' arranged horizontally for "Western European Union". Above the letter ''E'' is the letter ''U'' and below the letter ''O''. UEO is the acronym for the French equivalent, ''Union de l'Europe Occidentale''. Below the acronyms, arranged along the edge, are ten five pointed stars. The reverse bears the Latin words in relief, ''PRO PACE UNUM'', meaning "one for peace",service ribbon
A medal ribbon, service ribbon or ribbon bar is a small ribbon, mounted on a small metal bar equipped with an attaching device, which is generally issued for wear in place of a medal when it is not appropriate to wear the actual medal. Each cou ...
is the same as the suspension ribbon, utilizing miniature versions of the clasps.[
]
Order of wear
Some orders of wear are as follows:
See also
* Common Security and Defence Policy Service Medal
The Common Security and Defence Policy Service Medal (named the European Security and Defence Policy Service Medal prior to 2009) is an international military decoration awarded to individuals, both military and civilian, who have served with CSDP ...
References
{{Orders, decorations, and medals of the European Union
Western European Union
Orders, decorations, and medals of the European Union
Campaign medals