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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§9286 Korea Defense Service Medal

Title 10 › Subtitle D — Air Force and Space Force › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 937 — DECORATIONS AND AWARDS › § 9286

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Air Force must give a medal called the Korea Defense Service Medal to any Air Force or Space Force member who served in the Republic of Korea or the waters next to it during the medal’s eligibility period and who meets the medal’s service rules. The eligibility period begins on July 28, 1954, and ends on a later date the Secretary of Defense decides. The Secretary of the Air Force sets the service rules, but they cannot be tougher than the rules for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal when that medal applies.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §9286

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of the Air Force shall issue a campaign medal, to be known as the Korea Defense Service Medal, to each person who while a member of the Air Force or the Space Force served in the Republic of Korea or the waters adjacent thereto during the KDSM eligibility period and met the service requirements for the award of that medal prescribed under subsection (c).
(b)In this section, the term “KDSM eligibility period” means the period beginning on July 28, 1954, and ending on such date after the date of the enactment of this section as may be determined by the Secretary of Defense to be appropriate for terminating eligibility for the Korea Defense Service Medal.
(c)The Secretary of the Air Force shall prescribe service requirements for eligibility for the Korea Defense Service Medal. Those requirements shall not be more stringent than the service requirements for award of the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for instances in which the award of that medal is authorized.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (b), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 107–314, which was approved Dec. 2, 2002.

Prior Provisions

Prior sections 9301 to 9306 were renumbered sections 9401 to 9406 of this title, respectively.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 116–283 inserted “or the Space Force” after “member of the Air Force”. 2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 8756 of this title as this section. 2004—Pub. L. 108–375 renumbered section 8755 of this title as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 9286

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102