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Executive Order 13363 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 13363—Establishing the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals

George W. Bush George W. Bush
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Monday, November 29, 2004
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3 min read (533 words)
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69 Fed. Reg. 70175

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 3 min read (533 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There is hereby established the Iraq Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President George W. Bush on November 29, 2004, this order concerns Establishing the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals. There is hereby established the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in…

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Iraq Campaign Medal

There is hereby established the Iraq Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances.

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Relationship to Other Awards

Notwithstanding section 1 of Executive Order 13289 of March 12, 2003, establishing the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, any member who qualified for that medal by reason of service in Afghanistan between October 24, 2001, and a terminal date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense, or in Iraq between March 19, 2003, and a terminal date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense, shall remain qualified for that medal.

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Posthumous Award

The Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal may be awarded posthumously to any person covered by and under regulations prescribed in accordance with this order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ National Security & Defense
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
35 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
533
3,166 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (4 sections)
Sec. 1: Afghanistan Campaign MedalSec. 2: Iraq Campaign MedalSec. 3: Relationship to Other AwardsSec. 4: Posthumous Award

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including my authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States and Public Law 108–234, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. #sec-1

Afghanistan Campaign Medal. There is hereby established the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal shall be awarded to members of the uniformed services of the United States who serve or have served in Afghanistan or contiguous air space, as defined by such regulations, on or after October 24, 2001, and before a terminal date to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Iraq Campaign Medal. There is hereby established the Iraq Campaign Medal with suitable appurtenances. Except as limited in section 3 of this order, and under uniform regulations to be prescribed by the Secretaries of the military departments and approved by the Secretary of Defense, or under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, the Iraq Campaign Medal shall be awarded to members of the uniformed services of the United States who serve or have served in Iraq or contiguous waters or air space, as defined by such regulations, on or after March 19, 2003, and before a terminal date to be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Relationship to Other Awards. Notwithstanding section 1 of Executive Order 13289 of March 12, 2003, establishing the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, any member who qualified for that medal by reason of service in Afghanistan between October 24, 2001, and a terminal date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense, or in Iraq between March 19, 2003, and a terminal date to be determined by the Secretary of Defense, shall remain qualified for that medal. Upon application, a member by reason of service may be awarded either the Afghanistan Campaign Medal or the Iraq Campaign Medal in lieu of the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal. A member may be awarded either the Afghanistan Campaign Medal or the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal by reason of service in Afghanistan. A member may be awarded either the Iraq Campaign Medal or the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal by reason of service in Iraq. No member shall be entitled to the award of more than one of these three medals for the same period of service.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Posthumous Award. The Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal may be awarded posthumously to any person covered by and under regulations prescribed in accordance with this order. GEORGE W. BUSH The White House, November 29, 2004. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:47 a.m., December 1, 2004]

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,363, 69 Fed. Reg. 70,175 (Nov. 29, 2004).