Operational Medal for Southern Africa

• Name — Operational Medal for Southern Africa • Presenter — the President • Country — South Africa • Type — Military campaign medal • Eligibility — Umkhonto we Sizwe and Azanian People's Liberation Army cadres • Awarded For — Operational service outside South Africa • Campaign — The "struggle" • Status — Discontinued in 2003 • Established — 1998 • Precedence Label — APLA and MK 1996 & SANDF post-2002 orders of wear • Higher — * MK precedence: • Merit Medal in Bronze • APLA precedence: • Bronze Medal for Merit • SANDF precedence: • General Service Medal • Lower — * MK and APLA succession: • South Africa Service Medal • SANDF succession: • South Africa Service Medal • Image2 — * Illustration — x29px • Caption2 — Ribbon bar

Umkhonto we Sizwe, abbreviated as MK, "Spear of the Nation" in Zulu, was the para-military wing of the African National Congress (ANC), while the Azanian People's Liberation Army (APLA) was the para-military wing of the Pan Africanist Congress. Both were established in 1961 to wage an armed "struggle" against the Nationalist government inside South Africa. On 27 April 1994, Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Army were amalgamated with five statutory defence forces into the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

The Operational Medal for Southern Africa was instituted by the President of South Africa in 1998.

The position of the Operational Medal for Southern Africa 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. • Umkhonto we Sizwe: • Illustration — Merit Medal in Bronze (MMB) • Illustration — Operational Medal for Southern Africa • Illustration — South Africa Service Medal • Official MK order of precedence: • Preceded by the Merit Medal in Bronze (MMB). • Succeeded by the South Africa Service Medal. • Azanian People's Liberation Army: • Illustration — Bronze Medal for Merit (BMM) • Illustration — Operational Medal for Southern Africa • Illustration — South Africa Service Medal • Official APLA order of precedence: • Preceded by the Bronze Medal for Merit (BMM). • Succeeded by the South Africa Service Medal. • South African National Defence Force until 26 April 2003: • Illustration — General Service Medal (Bophuthatswana) • Illustration — Operational Medal for Southern Africa • Illustration — South Africa Service Medal • Official SANDF order of precedence: • Preceded by the General Service Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. • Succeeded by the South Africa Service Medal of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Army. • Official national order of precedence: • Preceded by the General Service Medal of the Republic of Bophuthatswana. • Succeeded by the South Africa Service Medal of Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Azanian People's Liberation Army.

Conferment of the Operational Medal for Southern Africa was discontinued upon the institution of a new set of honours on 27 April 2003.