Overseas Service Bar

An Overseas Service Bar is an accoutrement on United States Army Army Service Uniform and previously on the Army Green (Class A) and the Army Blue (Dress Blue) uniforms that indicates a soldier has served six months of service in a combat zone.

Overseas Service Bars are displayed as an embroidered gold bar worn horizontally on the right sleeve of the Class A uniform and the Army Service Uniform. Overseas Service Bars are cumulative, in that each bar worn indicates another six-month period. Time spent overseas is also cumulative, meaning one bar could be earned for two separate deployments totaling six months.

The original concept of an Overseas Bar began in the First World War with what was known as an Overseas Chevron. An Overseas Chevron was an inverted chevron patch of gold metallic thread on olive drab backing worn on the lower left sleeve on the standard Army dress uniform over the Service Stripes. The chevron was identical to the Wound Chevron which was worn on the opposite right sleeve.

Soldiers' Overseas Service was calculated from the day they disembarked in Britain or France. Sailors and Marines who served in the European war zone aboard a ship for 6 months (Shipboard Service) wore their chevron point upwards. If they served ashore, they qualified for the Overseas War Service chevron.

During World War II, the chevron was redesignated as the Overseas Bar and the patch adopted its current design of a horizontal bar. For those who had performed overseas service in both the First and Second World Wars, the Overseas Bar and Chevron were worn simultaneously. In 1953, the Overseas Service Bar had adopted its current name and the patch was now worn on the lower right sleeve, instead of the left.

The Overseas Service Bar is a separate decoration from the Overseas Service Ribbon, which recognizes overseas service in any location without regard to whether or not the area has been designated a combat zone. Regulations permit receiving both awards for the same qualifying period of service.

Army Regulation 670-1 dated 10 April 2015 in Chapter 21, Paragraph 29 states the following:

Overseas service bars

a. Authorized wearers. Soldiers are authorized to wear overseas service bars as indicated below. Listed beginning dates and ending dates are inclusive.

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