South Vietnamese Staff Service Medal, First Class

South Vietnamese Staff Service Medal, First Class. The medal shows a crossed sword and writing brush surmounted by a large diamond, with smaller diamonds at each corner (a 'square fortress' design). In the centre is a green enamelled diamond containing gold crossed rifles, an anchor and wings, symbol of the South Vietnamese Armed Forces. The reverse is plain. Suspension is by a ring from the top corner. The ribbon is red and white diagonally striped with a narrow green vertical stripe at each edge.

The Vietnam Staff Service Medal was a military award of South Vietnam which was issued between the years of 1964 and 1973. The medal was awarded in two classes and presented for exemplary service while performing military duty on the staff of a major Vietnamese military command.

To be awarded the Vietnam Staff Service Medal, a service member must have performed at least six months of military duty, while serving on a military staff, with such performance being above and beyond that which would normally be required for the position. The Vietnam Staff Service Medal was presented in two grades for such service with the first class grade for officers and the second class for enlisted personnel. The two different grades were annotated by border coloring on the medal’s ribbon, the first class being green and the second class blue.

The Vietnam Staff Service Medal is an obsolete decoration since the awarding authority, the Republic of Vietnam, no longer exists.

Fifteen Staff Service Medals, First Class, were awarded to Australian officers, along with 5 Second Class medals to warrant officers. Permission from the Australian Government for them to be worn was not granted until the late 1990s.