The most common United Nations medal is the standard U.N. decoration known simply as the United Nations Medal. Most countries bestow this award for any action in which a member of the military participated in a joint U.N. activity.
In situations where a service member participated in multiple U.N. operations, service stars, campaign clasps, or award numbers are authorized as attachments to the United Nations Medal. These devices vary depending on the regulations of the various armed forces.
The UN has authorized the award of numerals to be attached to the medal ribbon. The qualification for these numerals is not to indicate the number of campaigns served in, but rather the number of qualifying periods of service, which are counted as 180 consecutive days after the initial qualifying period of ninety days.
