New 'Operation Midnight Hammer' Medal Created to Recognize Iran-Israel War Service

This legislation, officially titled the Iranian Campaign Medal Act, establishes a brand new military decoration: the Iranian Campaign Medal. Simply put, this bill is about recognizing service members who were on active duty supporting a specific operation during the Iran-Israel War.

The New Hardware for Service

Under this Act (SEC. 2), the Secretaries of each military branch—Army, Navy, Air Force, etc.—are now authorized to issue this medal, along with the corresponding ribbons and lapel pins. The Secretary of Defense gets the final say on the design, ensuring that the decoration looks consistent across all branches. This is the government procedure part: creating the award, designing it, and setting up the distribution chain.

Who Gets to Wear It?

Eligibility is tied to two main requirements. First, the service member must have been on active duty supporting the specific operation during the Iran-Israel War. Second, they must have either been deployed to an area designated as eligible by the Secretary of their branch, or they must have performed other service that the Secretary decides counts for the medal (SEC. 2). For the average veteran, this means that even if you weren't physically in the hot zone, your support role might still qualify, depending on the Secretary’s judgment. This is a key detail, as it gives the Secretaries significant discretion over who is included.

The Fine Print on Eligibility

One important rule is that this is a one-and-done medal: you only get one, no matter how many times your service qualifies. If a service member who earned the medal is deceased, the Secretary can present the award to their closest living relative. The Secretaries are also required to write up the specific rules for handing these out, and the Secretary of Defense must ensure those rules are as consistent as possible across all branches. This is the bureaucratic check designed to prevent the Navy from having vastly different standards than the Army. While the bill provides recognition and honor for those who served, the medium level of vagueness around what "other service" qualifies means that the specific implementation details—and who ultimately gets the medal—will depend heavily on the internal rules the military branches write up next.