Meritorious Service Medal

• Awarded on: April 5, 2016
• Invested on: June 23, 2017

In 2012, Paul Dickson was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, as a strategic analyst with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) J2 Red Team, which was responsible for intelligence. Within months, he became the first civilian and the first Canadian to serve as division chief for the Red Team, supporting his commanders on intelligence questions ranging from the threat of factionalism within the Afghan government to the potential merits of fracturing the Taliban. His efforts contributed substantially to Canadian and allied mission effectiveness.