Staff at Tim's eligible for small, regular medal
The staff at the Tim Hortons outlet at Kandahar Airfield are eligible to receive the General Service Medal for their service in Afghanistan, Canwest News Service reports (David Pugliese & Katherine Laidlaw, “Tim Hortons staff eligible for Afghan war medals,” Victoria Times-Colonist, 29 March 2010).
The medal, which was established in 2004, is given to both military personnel and civilians under contract with the Canadian Forces who complete at least 30 days of service outside Canada in direct support of Canadian Forces operations in the “presence of an armed enemy”. (There is a separate General Campaign Star for military personnel who take direct part in such operations.) The staff at the Tim Hortons at Kandahar are trained by Tim Hortons but are contract employees of the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency and are thus eligible for the medal.
[This post was updated on 1 April 2010 to reflect the fact that the staff at the Tim Hortons have been eligible for the medal since the outlet was established, in 2006.]
Further coverage
Nathan Hodge, “A Medal for Canada’s Frontline Donut-Vendors?” Danger Room, 31 March 2010
Photo: Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency