query: instance_of overseas medal
supports: The National Gendarmerie is one of two national police forces of France. It is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior - with additional duties to the Ministry of Defense. Its area of responsibility includes smaller towns and rural areas, while the "Police Nationale" - a civilian force - is in charge of cities and large towns. Due to its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defense missions.
  The Gendarmes also have a cybercrime division.
  It has a strength of more than 100,000 personnel as of 2014. The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external and internal aggressors. In broad usage, the terms "armed forces" and "military" are often treated synonymously, although in technical usage a distinction is sometimes made in which a country's armed forces may include both its military and other paramilitary forces. Armed force is the use of armed forces to achieve political objectives.
  The study of the use of armed forces is called military science. Broadly speaking, this involves considering offense and defense at three "levels": strategy, operational art, and tactics. All three levels study the application of the use of force in order to achieve a desired objective. The Colonial Medal was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colony or a protectorate". A decree of 6 June 1962 changed the term "colonial" to "overseas" (see Overseas Medal). A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a higher status as the award usually involves deployment to a foreign region or service in a combat zone. The French Army, officially the Land Army (to distinguish it from the Air Army) is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. Along with the French Air Force, the French Navy and the National Gendarmerie, it is responsible to the French government. The current Chief of Staff of the French Army (C.E.M.A.T.) is General Jean-Pierre Bosser, a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff (C.E.M.A.). All soldiers are considered professionals following the suspension of conscription, voted in parliament in 1997 and made effective in 2001. A service medal is an award to individuals who participated in designated wars, campaigns, or expeditions, or who have fulfilled specific service requirements in a creditable manner. Service medals are sometimes also Campaign medals. The Overseas Medal ( French : Médaille d'Outre - Mer ) is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces for participating in operations outside national territory . It replaced the French Colonial Medal by decree on 6 June 1962 . The French Air Force (, literally "air army") is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the "Service Aéronautique", a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1934. The number of aircraft in service with the French Air Force varies depending on source, however sources from the French Ministry of Defence give a figure of 658 aircraft in 2014. The French Air Force has 233 combat aircraft in service, with the majority being 125 Dassault Mirage 2000 and 108 Dassault Rafale. As of early 2016, the French Air Force employs a total of 42,607 regular personnel. The reserve element of the air force consisted of 5,187 personnel of the Operational Reserve. The French Armed Forces encompass the French Army, the French Navy, the French Air Force, the French National Guard and the National Gendarmerie of France. The President of the Republic heads the armed forces, with the title ""chef des armées"" ("chief of the armed forces"). The President is the supreme authority for military matters and is the sole official who can order a nuclear strike. France maintains the tenth largest defence budget in the world and the largest army in size in the EU. France also maintains the third largest nuclear deterrent behind only Russia and the United States.  The French Navy ("national navy"), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces. Tracing its roots back to 1624 it is one of the world's oldest naval forces and historically played a key part in establishing the French colonial empire. Since the early foundings, its roles have been defined as maintaining intelligence, protecting populations, preventing crises, intervening wherever necessary to reestablish peace, and dissuading any threats against vital French interests. The Marine nationale consists of four branches: the "Force d'Action Navale", the "Forces Sous-marines", the "Aéronavale" and the "Fusiliers Marins" (including Commandos Marine). As a blue-water navy the Marine nationale operates a wide range of fighting vessels, including a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered submarines, frigates, patrol boats and support ships. The French Navy does not use prefixes of the names of its ships (such as the Royal Navy uses HMS, for instance). Foreign commentators sometimes use the prefixes "FS" (for "French Ship") or FNS (for "French Navy Ship"); these are not official, however. France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux.
candidates: air force application area armed forces army article award branch budget campaign charge colonial empire colony component continent country decoration decree force four gendarmerie government island january june jurisdiction may medal mediterranean sea member military decoration ministry ministry of defence nation navy number order part police population protectorate range republic service size status study territory theater three two
answer: order