Dozens of Operation Telic decorations have appeared for sale on eBay, the online auction site, just months after they were issued to troops. The revelation is said to have “dismayed” senior officers and members of the Defence Medal Office, the organisation that issues medals. Many of the troops auctioning medals are hoping to cash in on their rarity value. Although more than 90,000 have been issued, few have previously found their way on to the collectors’ market. The disclosure that sales are taking place while British troops are still under fire in the region has echoes of the Vietnam conflict when veterans threw away their decorations in protest. One officer who served in the Iraq war told the Sunday Telegraph that many soldiers now believed they were sent to Iraq on a “false premise”. He said that while he was proud to have served in the war, he knew of soldiers who believed they had been sent to “fight and die” in an illegal war. Any member of the armed services who has spent more than 30 days in Iraq is entitled to receive the medal. Those troops who took part in combat operations received an accompanying rosette which is understood to add greater value.

Posted: 01|1|06 at 12:25 pm. Filed under: UK News.