The GWOT SM is like a second national defense service medal. You'd have to try really hard not to earn it.
Yeah I guess maybe I have the GWOT. Trying to be by the book so as to not look like an unprepared shitbird at our last change of command, I got one, and then after asking around, it was pretty much 50/50 whether I rated it. So I didn't wear it. Maybe I suck at reading but I didn't really see anything in the regs that confirmed that it would have been authorized for me.......and I don't care about ribbons, aside from getting called out by someone for not having one I should have. For reference, I was @ 3.5 years active prior to ever getting to the fleet, due to flight school, FRS, various extended periods of waiting between training commands, etc. Checked into my fleet squadron immediately after they got back from cruise, so that guaranteed me having the most time possible in the command prior to deploying. By the time we deploy, I will be either the 2nd or 3rd most senior JO, which will be interesting with no cruise experience.
I'm on the same page as you guys, I was just asking for the sake of MIDNJAC in case he may not be aware of what he rates. Whether you want to wear it is, understandably, a completely different matter.
What's important to you may not match the order of merit. I know one of the awards I'm most proud of is a Coast Guard MUC. Why? Because some bad guys were "permanently fired" from their jobs due to actions on one of my deployments and the CG recognized this.