Meritorious Service Medal
- Awarded on: April 28, 2022
- Invested on: September 11, 2023
Rank: Captain
From February to August 2021, Captain Simmons was deployed to northern Iraq where he demonstrated exceptional leadership and tactical acumen as the regional operations officer for Combined Joint Task Force—Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. In particular, his intervention prevented a catastrophic incident that could have resulted in the loss of friendly force lives and triggered a strategic incident that would have negatively affected regional stability. Captain Simmons’ exceptional commitment to the mission brought tremendous credit to Canada.