U.S. troops who have taken part in operations to counter Houthi rebels in Yemen have been authorized to receive the Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals, Pentagon spokesman Joshua Wick told Task & Purpose on Friday.
The medals have been authorized since last summer, when U.S. Navy aircraft and ships were in near-constant combat in the region, both striking Houthi land-based targets and shooting down drones and rockets fired by the rebels towards ships transiting the Red Sea. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Ronald T. Keohane announced in a June 18 memo that U.S. service members participating in the three missions focused on the Red Sea and the Houthis — Operations Prosperity Guardian, Poseidon Archer, and Pandora Throttle — would qualify for both the Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals, Wick said.
The Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, or GWOT-SM, has been awarded since the 9/11 attacks but eligibility for the award has been narrowed over the years. Nearly all U.S. service members were initially eligible for the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, including active-duty, National Guard, and Reserve troops mobilized after Sept. 11, 2001 for 30 consecutive days or 60 non-consecutive days.
But in 2022, the Pentagon changed the eligibility requirements for the medal so that U.S. troops must spend at least 30 days assigned to a unit taking part in a dedicated counterterrorism operation to receive the award.
The Houthis are one of several Iranian-backed proxies that have launched attacks in solidarity with Hamas since October 2023. Such groups have also attacked U.S. troops in the Middle East over the past year. A drone attack in January against an American base in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers.
U.S. troops deployed to Iraq and Syria are eligible for the Inherent Resolve Campaign in lieu of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal because a Defense Department policy prevents service members from receiving duplicate awards for the same mission, Wick said.
There are two versions of the GWOT award, the Service Medal and Expeditionary Medal. Broadly, the Expeditionay, or EM, is awarded for those who deploy in support of an operation, while Service Medal, or SM, is for those in support roles. U.S. Central Command had asked the Joint Staff and Keohane and the Joint Staff to authorize both Global War on Terrorism Medals for the three operations, Wick said.
The area of eligibility for the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal includes the total airspace, land area, territorial waters, and boundaries of the Southern Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, Wick said.
The U.S. military has been fighting an undeclared war against the Houthis for more than a year. The Iranian-backed rebels began attacking ships in the Red Sea following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack against Israel.
U.S. warships have destroyed countless Houthi missiles, drones, and boats that have targeted commercial and military vessels, and both American and British forces have struck targets inside Yemen since January, but the Houthis continue to hold shipping at risk.
In January, the crew of the destroyer USS Carney received the Combat Action Ribbon, and several individual sailors were awarded medals for their efforts to stop Houthi attacks.
During its eight-month deployment, the Carney engaged Houthi-launched weapons that targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea a total of 51 times. On Dec. 16, 2023 alone, the Carney shot down 14 Houthi drones that had been launched from Yemen.
Navy Cmdr. Jeremy Robertson, the Carney’s commanding officer, told reporters in May that the ship’s crew had just seconds to detect missiles and decide whether to shoot them down.
“Is it inbound? Is it in the envelope that we can engage? And then very quickly make sure that there’s no one top side. You don’t want anyone to get hurt that’s top side,” Robertson said. “Honestly from start to finish, it’s anywhere from nine to 20 seconds.”
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