Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
The AFEM initiative is a request for review and recognition. Neither this website nor a supporting resolution establishes an already authorized Honduras eligibility period.
Honduras Veterans Service Recognition
Recognition
RECOGNITION
Recognition built on evidence
HVSR seeks a formal, fair review of qualifying Honduras service in the proposed 1981–1992 period. The campaign is not seeking retroactive hazardous-duty pay or interest.
Contact Congress: prepare a personalized request for evidence-based recognition review
Regional comparators
El Salvador provides a documented regional and temporal comparison. Panama remains a separate comparison track; differences in operations, dates and eligibility must be addressed. A comparison is not an entitlement determination.
Resolutions establish an organization’s position or a legislature’s action. Historical claims and casualty or award totals within them still require source-level verification.
OFFICIAL OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
What the federal record now establishes
These facts are relevant to a fair recognition review because they document force scale, emergency deployment, armed regional conditions and sustained rotational activity. They are context, not an award decision.
March 1988 · sustained force plus emergency surge
GAO estimated approximately 3,150 U.S. personnel were already in Honduras before Golden Pheasant. The emergency deployment then added roughly 3,000 combat troops, including 3,025 personnel moved from Fort Bragg and Fort Ord by 54 Military Airlift Command aircraft.
Limit: the combined figure is a March 1988 surge picture, not a continuous force level for the whole proposed recognition period.
March 1988 · armed incursion into Honduras
GAO records that approximately 1,500–2,000 Sandinista troops crossed several miles into Honduras with artillery, aircraft and helicopter-gunship support. The Honduran government requested U.S. assistance, and U.S. leaders selected an emergency deployment readiness exercise as the military response.
Limit: this documents a hostile regional event and U.S. response; it does not establish that every U.S. member in Honduras encountered hostile action.
FY1989 · sustained rotational command structure
The DoD Inspector General recorded 87 Service exercises and 5 joint exercises programmed for JTF-Bravo support in FY1989, approximately 1,200 personnel assigned, and a staff made up almost entirely of 4–6 month TDY rotations. In January 1989 JTF-Bravo sought conversion of 50 TDY positions to longer assignments because workload and continuity requirements had grown.
Limit: an operational footprint and TDY model are not themselves AFEM eligibility criteria.
Recognition boundary. These official records materially strengthen the documented operational and expeditionary context for Honduras service. Neither report designates Honduras as an AFEM-approved operation or establishes entitlement for any individual. That policy and designation bridge remains a separate research question.
THE HONDURAS RECORD
Organizational support and state action
Source review: 17 September 2026. Earlier reported statuses are retained with qualifications where this review could not confirm them.
VFW
Resolution 419 approved in the national convention proceedings.
American Legion
NEC Resolution 3 • 8–9 October 2025 • calls for Honduras AFEM recognition.
Marine Corps League
Resolution 2-2026 • published text carries adoption wording; convention adoption date remains unresolved.
DAV
Mississippi HCR 56, as adopted by both chambers, states that Disabled American Veterans adopted a formal resolution supporting the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal for Honduras service during 1981–1992. HVSR has yet to obtain the DAV-issued resolution or its adoption record.
North Dakota
HCR 3007 • passed; last official filing action 21 March 2025.
Mississippi
HCR 56 (2026) · adopted by the House and Senate; enrolled resolution signed 26 March 2026. Memorializes Congress to authorize retroactive Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal recognition for qualifying Honduras service from 1 January 1981 through 31 December 1992. This state resolution does not itself authorize federal awards.
The resolution's historical award totals and references to veterans-organization support are legislative assertions requiring independent corroboration.
Illinois
HR 868 • adopted 28 May 2026.
Louisiana
HR 37 • adopted 92–0 on 11 May 2026; presented to Secretary of State 21 May.
Ohio
HCR 18 • introduced and referred to committee in the inspected official report. Prior reporting of hearings remains to be reconciled.
Kansas
HR 6046 • enrolled in the 2025–2026 session.
New Jersey
AR 66 • earlier site reported “introduced; committee” as of 22 August 2026. Current status has not been independently checked.
Missouri
HCR 27 • earlier site reported “committee referral” as of 22 August 2026. Current status has not been independently checked.
Kentucky
HCR 121 • earlier site reported “introduced; committee” as of 22 August 2026. Current status has not been independently checked.
Iowa
HR 103 • earlier site reported “introduced/listed” as of 22 August 2026. Current status has not been independently checked.
SEPARATE AWARD INQUIRY
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
U · Unresolved questionJMUA research is maintained separately from the general historical narrative and the AFEM initiative. Official award orders, covered dates and documented command or personnel relationships must be examined. No individual or unit eligibility is asserted here.
ARMY RECOGNITION RESEARCH
Army Combat Patch and CSIB Research
U · Unresolved question
HVSR is examining whether any U.S. Army operations in Honduras could qualify for authorization of the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia–Military Operations in Hostile Conditions (SSI–MOHC), commonly called a combat patch, and the corresponding Combat Service Identification Badge (CSIB). This is a separate research effort from the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) proposal. Army authorization for Honduras operations remains unverified.