A former soldier from Alloa slammed the treatment of veterans after he was finally presented with a medal he earned in 2005.
John Gardner left the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in 2007 but it took until Monday for him to receive the Iraq medal he should have been given eight years ago.
The campaign medal was issued to members of the armed forces who took part in Operation TELIC, the official name for British operations during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its aftermath.
Mr Gardner, who joined the army in 1978, was attached to the Staffordshire Regiment, now part of the Mercians, while in Iraq.
All servicemen and women who completed 28 days’ service in Iraq were entitled to a medal but Mr Gardner’s was sent to the regiment after it had left the Gulf and was stationed in Germany.
It was not passed on to him and it has taken him eight years and the intervention of Scottish Government Veterans Minister Keith Brown to finally obtain his medal.
The 54-year-old said: “I’ve been fighting with them since 2005 to get the medal.
“When I phoned the medals office they said it had been issued but when I contacted the regiment in Germany they said it had gone.
“They will only replace medals if they are stolen or destroyed in a fire but I think it is wrong that I have had to fight to get something I was entitled to.”
Mr Gardner, who lives in Alloa and works for security firm G4S, said the Ministry of Defence does not do enough for servicemen and women once they return to “civvy street”.
“I really want to highlight that when a lot of people come out (of the army) there is no help,” said Mr Gardner.
“There is Help for Heroes, but why should people have to depend on a charity?”
Mr Gardner, who also completed tours in Northern Ireland and Kosovo, only received his medal after Mr Brown took up his case.
The minister contacted UK Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois, who agreed to have the medal reissued.
“I’m not angry, I’m just glad I’m getting my medal,” said Mr Gardner.
“I’m very happy with Keith Brown he’s done something in three-and-a-half weeks that I have spent years fighting for.”
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence said an administrative error was the likeliest reason for Mr Gardner not receiving his medal sooner.
She said: “We are glad somebody was able to help and delighted to see a well-deserved medal go to the right place.
Mr Brown presented the medal to Mr Gardner in his Alloa constituency office on Monday afternoon.