Combat Readiness Medal Miniature

Combat Readiness Medal Miniature Combat Readiness Medal Service: Air Force Instituted: 1964 Criteria: Awarded for speci­fic periods of qualifying ser­vice in a combat or mission-ready status Devices: Bronze, Silver Oak Leaf cluster Authorized on March 9, 1964. Awarded for periods of qualifying service in a combat or mission ready status for direct weapon system employment. Direct weapon system employment is defined as: (1) An aircrew whose wartime mission places them into enemy territory or in the threat envelope of ground enemy defenses, (2) A missile operation which could employ weapons to destroy enemy targets and (3) Individuals who directly control in-flight manned aircraft whose wartime mission is to seek and destroy enemy targets. An individual must be a member of a unit subject to combat readiness reporting under Joint Chiefs of Staff requirements, must have completed all prerequisite training and be certified as combat or mission ready in performing the unit’s mission and must be subject to a continuous individual positional evaluation program. In previous regulations, eligibility was extended to Air Force members on special duty with another U.S. military service provided they were certified as combat ready in that service and the combat ready status closely correlated to that of the Air Force. Originally an individual was required to be combat ready for three years to earn this award. Currently, individuals must have 24 months of sustained combat ready status to receive the award. Eligibility for the award is certified by the individual’s unit commander and is filed in the unit’s personnel records group. An oak leaf cluster attachment is awarded for each additional 24 months of combat ready status provided there is no break greater than 120 days. The front of the medal has a border of concentric rays encircling a ring of stylized cloud forms with two intersecting triangles on a compass rose that has small triangles at his points. The reverse of the medal contains the inscription, “FOR COMBAT READINESS-AIR FORCE.”