| Long Service Medal, Bronze | |
| Presenter: | the President |
| Country: | Venda |
| Type: | Military long service medal |
| Eligibility: | All Ranks |
| Awarded For: | Ten years exemplary service |
| Status: | Discontinued in 1994 |
| Established: | 1985 |
| Precedence Label: | VDF pre-1994 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear |
| Higher: | |
| Lower: | |
The Long Service Medal, Bronze was instituted by the President of the Republic of Venda in 1985, for award to all ranks for ten years exemplary service.[1]
The 900 member Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established upon that country's independence on 13 September 1979. The Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994 and the Venda Defence Force was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).[2] [3]
The Long Service Medal, Bronze was instituted by the President of Venda in 1985. It is the junior award of a set of three medals for long service, along with the Long Service Medal, Gold and the Long Service Medal, Silver.[1] [4]
Venda's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the Republic of South Africa and these three medals are the approximate equivalents of, respectively, the Good Service Medal, Gold, the Good Service Medal, Silver and the Good Service Medal, Bronze.
The medal could be awarded to all ranks for ten years of exemplary service.[1]
Since the Long Service Medal, Bronze was authorised for wear by one of the statutory forces which came to be part of the South African National Defence Force on 27 April 1994, it was accorded a position in the official South African order of precedence on that date.[5]
The position of the Long Service Medal, Bronze in the official order of precedence was revised twice after 1994, to accommodate the inclusion or institution of new decorations and medals, first 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 again upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged on both occasions.[5]
The suspender is in the form of a pair of crossed elephant tusks and is different on the full-size and miniature medals. On the full-size medal, as depicted, the ends of the tusks reach to approximately the ten-thirty and one-thirty positions on the medallion, while on the miniature medal they reach to approximately the ten o'clock and two o'clock positions on the medallion.[7]
Conferment of the Long Service Medal, Bronze was discontinued when the Republic of Venda ceased to exist on 27 April 1994.[3]