Sailors who served aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke have been awarded the Armed Forces Service Medal for their support and execution of ballistic missile defense operations in 2024 and during last June’s “12-Day War” between Iran and Israel, the ship said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
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Sailors who served aboard the vessel from Aug. 15, 2024, to Dec. 16, 2024, or during the 12-day armed conflict from Jun. 12, 2025, to Jun. 24, 2025, are eligible, according to the post.
Sailors who qualified under both stretches would receive the medal and a subsequent award.
The medal is authorized for service members who participate in a U.S. military operation of “significant activity” that did not involve foreign armed opposition or imminent threat.
On June 13, 2025, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, such as the Natanz Nuclear Facility, that killed top military leaders. The country said it did so to prevent Iran from continuing to build its nuclear arsenal.
Iran retaliated by firing nearly 900 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
About a week later, on June 21, President Donald Trump launched Operation Midnight Hammer, ordering airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities. The operation included 125 U.S. aircraft, 75 precision weapons and more than a dozen 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs that struck Iranian nuclear facilities Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
The conflict ended shortly after on June 24.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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