Authorized on April 22, 1953 and amended on January 11, 1966, this medal was awarded for honorable active military service as a member of the United States Armed Forces between June 27, 1950 and July 27, 1954 (Korean War period), January 1, 1961 and August 14, 1974 (Vietnam War period), and from January 1991 to an as yet undetermined date for the Southwest Asia campaigns.