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Canadian honours and awards bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces.

National Defence, 2011].

Canada. Canadian Armed Forces -- Medals, badges, decorations, etc.

Canada. Canadian Armed Forces -- Médailles, décorations, écussons, etc.

Military decorations -- Canada.

Décorations militaires -- Canada.

Visit the Canadian Forces Canadian honours and awards website.

View publication online.

Alternate title:

Honours and awards bestowed upon members of the Canadian Forces

Distinctions honorifiques canadiennes conférées aux membres des Forces canadiennes

51, 51 pages : illustrations (colour); 28 cm.

"Departmental Catalogue Number: A-DH-300-000/JD-001"--Page 5.

Text in English and French on inverted pages.

Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this guide is to provide a brief outline of the conditions of eligibility as well as images of the Canadian honours and awards that are available to members of the Canadian Forces (CF). The intent is that this booklet will be used as an aide-mémoire for commanders at all levels to help them make recommendations for appropriate honours and awards in a timely manner for the personnel under their authority. The content is limited to Canadian military awards. The information provided should only be viewed as general guidelines. For more detailed information and exact criteria, the reader should consult the various references listed at the end of this booklet. The honours and awards are presented in logical groupings; the correct order of wear being printed at the end of this publication. Since very ancient times, it has been customary to recognize military valour, bravery or meritorious service by the award of trophies, badges, insignia or medals. Throughout the last three centuries, Canadians have been presented with awards from the French Regime and the British Empire, indigenous Canadian honours being a relatively recent innovation. Gradually, Canada began to create its own awards and the turning point was the creation of the Order of Canada in 1967. The system started to expand in 1972 to become the wide-ranging system we now know. The modern Canadian honours system recognizes outstanding achievements, gallantry in combat, bravery and service to Crown and country. In Canada, all honours emanate from Her Majesty The Queen and are divided into three main categories: Orders are societies of merit, which recognize outstanding achievement and exceptional service over the course of a career or a life. Orders usually have different levels or grades of membership and the distinction is made with differences in the insignia associated to the various levels or in the way they are worn. An order being a society of merit, one is not awarded an order but admitted into it and, where subsequent service justifies it, one may be promoted within the order. As it is a membership, a person can resign from an order or be expulsed if that person failed to respect the principle of honour. Decorations recognize one act of gallantry in combat, or of bravery or meritorious service in a single event or over a specific period of time. A decoration is only awarded once to an individual; if further actions meet the criteria for the same decoration, a bar is awarded to be worn on the initial decoration in order to denote a second award. Medals recognize participation in a campaign or operation, service under exceptional circumstances, commemorate royal or national anniversaries or recognize long and loyal service. Bars may also be awarded to campaign or service medals to specify the service being recognized and on long service awards to denote additional periods of eligible service.

Canada. Department of National Defence.

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