Gold Service Medal

• Name — Gold Service Medal • Presenter — the President • Country — South Africa • Type — Military long service medal • Eligibility — Azanian People's Liberation Army cadres • Awarded For — Thirty years service • Campaign — The "struggle" • Status — Discontinued in 2003 • Established — 1996 • Precedence Label — APLA 1996 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear • Higher — * APLA precedence: • South Africa Service Medal • SANDF precedence: • Long Service Medal, Gold • Lower — * APLA succession: • Silver Service Medal • SANDF succession: • Service Medal in Gold • Image2 — * Illustration — x29px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar

The Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) was the para-military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). It was established in 1961 to wage an armed "struggle" against the Nationalist government inside South Africa. On 27 April 1994, the Azanian People's Liberation Army was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The Gold Service Medal was instituted by the President of South Africa in April 1996. It is the senior award of a set of three medals for long service, along with the Silver Service Medal and the Bronze Service Medal. The Azanian People's Liberation Army's military decorations and medals were modelled on those of the South African Defence Force 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 position of the Gold Service Medal in the official military and national orders of precedence was revised upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003, but it remained unchanged. • Azanian People's Liberation Army: • Illustration — South Africa Service Medal • Illustration — Gold Service Medal • Illustration — Silver Service Medal • Official APLA order of precedence: • Preceded by the South Africa Service Medal. • Succeeded by the Silver Service Medal. • South African National Defence Force: • Illustration — Long Service Medal, Gold • Illustration — Gold Service Medal • Illustration — Service Medal in Gold • Official SANDF order of precedence: • Preceded by the Long Service Medal, Gold of the Republic of Venda. • Succeeded by the Service Medal in Gold of Umkhonto we Sizwe. • Official national order of precedence: • Preceded by the Correctional Services Medal for Faithful Service, 30 Years of the KwaZulu Homeland. • Succeeded by the Service Medal in Gold of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Conferment of the Gold Service Medal was discontinued upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.