| Defence Force Commendation Medal | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Military decoration for merit |
| Awarded for | Service of a high standard |
| Country | .svg) Bophuthatswana |
| Presented by | the State President |
| Eligibility | All Ranks |
| Status | Discontinued in 1994 |
| Established | 1982 |
 Ribbon bar | |
| BDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear | |
| Next (higher) | BDF precedence: SANDF precedence: |
| Next (lower) | BDF succession: SANDF succession: |
TheDefence Force Commendation Medal was instituted by the State President of theRepublic of Bophuthatswana in 1982. It could be awarded to all ranks for service of a high standard.[1][2][3]
TheBophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF) was established upon that country's independence on 6 December 1977. The Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Bophuthatswana Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[4][5][6]
The Defence Force Commendation Medal was instituted by the State President of Bophuthatswana in 1982. It is the junior award of a set of three decorations for merit, along with theDefence Force Merit Decoration and theDefence Force Merit Medal.[1][3]
Bophuthatswana's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these three decorations are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, theSouthern Cross Decoration andPro Merito Decoration, theSouthern Cross Medal (1975) andPro Merito Medal (1975), and theMilitary Merit Medal.[1]
The medal could be awarded to all ranks for service of a high standard.[1][3]
Since the Defence Force Commendation Medal was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of theSouth African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.[1][7]
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The position of the Defence Force Commendation Medal in the order of precedence remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted in April 1996 for the two former non-statutory forces, theAzanian People's Liberation Army andUmkhonto we Sizwe, and again when a new series of military orders, decorations and medals was instituted in South Africa on 27 April 2003.[1]
The Defence Force Commendation Medal is a medallion struck in bronze, 38 millimetres in diameter, with an encircled leopard head in the centre and four double-ended arrow symbols around the perimeter. The undecorated suspender is attached to the medal by a double-ended arrow symbol beneath four converging lines.[3][8][9]
The reverse displays theCoat of Arms of the Republic of Bophuthatswana.
The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and cobalt blue, with two 4 millimetres wide yellow bands in the centre, spaced 8 millimetres apart.[9]
Conferment of the Defence Force Commendation Medal was discontinued when the Republic of Bophuthatswana ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.[6]
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