TEXT

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States of America, including my
authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United
States, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Establishment.  There is hereby established the Armed
Forces Service Medal with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances,
for award to members of the Armed Forces of the United States
who, on or after June 1, 1992, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff:  (a) Participate, or have participated, as members of
United States military units in a United States military
operation in which personnel of any Armed Force participate that
is deemed to be significant activity; and

     (b) Encounter no foreign armed opposition or imminent
hostile action.

Sec. 2.  Approval and Award. The medal, with ribbons and
appurtenances, shall be of an appropriate design approved by the
Secretary of Defense and shall be awarded by the Secretary of
Defense and the Secretary of Transportation with respect to the
Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy,
under uniform regulations, as prescribed by the Secretary of
Defense.  The regulations shall place the Armed Forces Service
Medal in an order of precedence immediately before the
Humanitarian Service Medal.

Sec. 3. Criteria.  The medal shall be awarded only for operations
for which no other United States service medal is approved.  For
operations in which personnel of only one Military Department or
Coast Guard participate, the medal shall be awarded only if there
is no other suitable award available to the department or the
Coast Guard.  No more than one medal shall be awarded to any one
person, but for each succeeding operation justifying such award a
suitable device may be awarded to be worn on the medal or ribbon
as prescribed by appropriate regulations.

Sec 4.  Posthumous Provision.  The medal may be awarded
posthumously and, when so awarded, may be presented to such
representative of the deceased as may be deemed appropriate by
the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Transportation.




                                   /s/William J. Clinton

THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 11, 1996.