Cold War Service Medal Act

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the award of a military service medal to members of the Armed Forces who served honorably during the Cold War, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Cold War Service Medal Act 2. Cold War Service Medal (a) Medal authorized (1) In general Chapter 57 (A) by redesignating sections 1135 and 1136 as sections 1136 and section 1137, respectively; and (B) by inserting after section 1134 the following new section: 1135. Cold War Service Medal (a) Medal authorized The Secretary concerned may issue a service medal, to be known as the Cold War Service Medal (b) Design The Cold War Service Medal shall be of an appropriate design approved by the Secretary of Defense, with ribbons, lapel pins, and other appurtenances. (c) Eligible persons Subject to subsection (d), a person eligible to be issued the Cold War Service Medal is any person who— (1) served on active duty in the armed forces for not less than 24 consecutive months during the Cold War; (2) was deployed as a member of the armed forces outside the continental United States for a period of at least 30 days during the Cold War; (3) was a member of a reserve component of the armed forces and called or ordered to active duty to participate in exercises or operations directly related to the Cold War, as determined by the Secretary of Defense; or (4) performed such other service in the armed forces during the Cold War as the Secretary of Defense may prescribe for purposes of this section. (d) One medal authorized Not more than one Cold War Service Medal may be issued to any person. (e) Issuance to next-of-Kin If a person described in subsection (c) is deceased, the Secretary concerned may provide for issuance of the Cold War Service Medal to the next-of-kin of the person. (f) Regulations The issuance of a Cold War Service Medal shall be subject to such regulations as the Secretaries concerned shall prescribe for purposes of this section. The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that any regulations prescribed under this subsection are uniform to the extent practicable. (g) Cold War defined In this section, the term Cold War . (2) Clerical amendment The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 57 of such title is amended by striking the items relating to sections 1135 and 1136 and adding at the end the following new items: 1135. Cold War Service Medal. 1136. Replacement of military decorations. 1137. Honorable service requirement for award of military decorations. . (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense should take appropriate actions to expedite— (1) the design of the Cold War Service Medal provided for by section 1136 of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)); and (2) the establishment and implementation of mechanisms to facilitate the issuance of the Cold War Service Medal to persons eligible for the issuance of the medal under such section.

Summary: Cold War Service Medal Act This bill authorizes the military department concerned to issue Cold War Service Medals to eligible persons who served during the Cold War (September 2, 1945, to December 26, 1991) and meet other requirements. Specifically, eligible persons are those who (1) served on active duty for at least 24 consecutive months during the Cold War, (2) were deployed as members of the armed forces outside of the United States for at least 30 days during the Cold War, (3) were members of a reserve component and called or ordered to active duty related to the Cold War, or (4) performed other service in the armed forces during the Cold War. The military department concerned may issue the medal to the next-of-kin if the eligible recipient is deceased.