Page 23 - eMuse Vol.9 No.11

Kuga’s medal will be displayed at the Australian War Me-
morial in Canberra from next year. “I’m pretty proud of what
Kuga did that day,” Sergeant J said.
“He’s the one who chose to go forward, he’s the one who
chose to take bullets for both me and my mates. “Ultimately
that enabled me to come home to my family.”

Canine Operational

Service Medal

The Canine Operational Service Medal was introduced on
8 June 2017 to recognise the contribution Military Working
Dogs make whilst serving on operations. The Medal forms
part of Defence’s internal recognition scheme and is not part
of the Australian Honours and Awards System. The Australian
Defence Force is the first Defence Force to implement recog-
nition of this nature.
The Medal will be awarded to Military Working Dogs who
have 30 days service continuous or aggregated on a declared
operation.
Phase one of the project will focus on identifying Military
Working Dogs with service on operations from East Timor
(1999) to current day. Phase two will focus on Defence con-
ducting research to identify Military Working Dogs with ser-
vice from Vietnam onwards.
Design
The medal is made from nickel-silver and has been de-
signed to reflect the Australian Defence Force Military Work-
ing Dog capability. The obverse (front) features Combat As-
sault Dog Quake, who was bred by the Air Force Breeding
Program and passed training elements to become an Army
Combat Assault Dog. Quake died on operations in Afghani-
stan on 25 June 2012. The reverse (back) features the Aus-
tralian Defence Force logo.
Ribbon
The ribbon colours represent Purple – animals, Green –
land, Yellow – loyalty; and Blue – sea and sky.
Clasps
A clasp with the name of the operation for which the award
is made is presented with the medal.
A further award of the Canine Operational Service Medal in
another area is recognised by the issue of an additional clasp.
Additional clasps are worn above previously awarded clasps,
in order of date of receipt.
The following clasps have been issued for the medal:
• EAST TIMOR • ICAT
• IRAQ 03 • SOLOMON IS II
(Top) Mark Donaldson VC with military dog, Odin. Together • TIMOR-LESTE • G.M.E. OPS
they accepted the Dickin Medal on behalf of Kuga. • G.M.E. OPS
(Bottom) Kuga Memorial Old Port Wakefield Road, War
Memorial precinct, Two Wells, South Australia. 5501 Information AWM
November 2020 eMuse 23