The secret to getting medals is to be in the right place at the right time. I got the National Defense medal since I was in the Navy when 9/11 happened, shortly followed by the Global War on Terrorism (Expeditionary) for being in the service for the...uh...global war or terrorism, and I got the Good Conduct medal for 3 years of clean service--which means I never punished (judicially or non-judicially) for having done bad things. And since I've been in for 7 years, I therefore get ANOTHER Good Conduct, which is represented by a bronze star on the medal.
And that's just three of my six awards. The other three are just ribbons.
