| General Service Medal | |
| Presenter: | the State President and, from 1994, the President |
| Country: |  South Africa |
| Type: | Military campaign medal |
| Eligibility: | All Ranks |
| Awarded For: | Operational service inside South Africa from 1 January 1983 |
| Campaign: | 1985-1992 State of Emergency |
| Status: | Discontinued in 2003 |
| Clasps: | MALUTI |
| Established: | 1987 |
| Firstawarded: | 1991 |
| Precedence Label: | SADF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear |
| Higher: | |
| Lower: | |
The General Service Medal is a military campaign medal which was instituted by the Republic of South Africa in 1987. It could be awarded to members of the South African Defence Force from 1 January 1983, for operational service inside South Africa in the prevention or suppression of terrorism or internal disorder, or the preservation of life, health or property, or the maintenance of essential services and law and order, or crime prevention.[1]
In 2002, the Maluti Clasp was authorised for personnel who participated in Operations Boleas and Maluti.
The Union Defence Forces (UDF) were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force (SADF) in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[1] [2] [3]
The General Service Medal was instituted by the State President in 1987.[2] [4]
The medal could be awarded from 1 January 1983, to serving members of all ranks of the South African Defence Force for operational service inside South Africa in the prevention or suppression of terrorism or internal disorder, or the preservation of life, health or property, or the maintenance of essential services and law and order, or crime prevention. In effect, it also served as a campaign medal for the State of Emergency operations against Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) from 1985 to 1990.[1]
Instituted by warrant on 9 May 2002, the Maluti Clasp was authorised for personnel who participated in Operations Boleas and Maluti in Lesotho.[5]
The position of the General Service Medal in the official order of precedence was revised three times after 1987, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first upon the integration into the South African National Defence Force in 1994, again in April 1996, when decorations and medals were belatedly instituted for the two former non-statutory forces, the Azanian People's Liberation Army and Umkhonto we Sizwe, and finally upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged, as it was on 27 April 1994, on the latter two occasions.
A recipient of the General Service Medal who was Mentioned in Dispatches during such operational service inside South Africa, was entitled to wear a miniature coat of arms on the medal ribbon.[1]
Conferment of the medal was discontinued in respect of services performed on or after 27 April 2003.[3]