Posted on Jan 16, 2016
Are there different kinds of service stripes for the Army Service Uniform?
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I'm preparing my Army Service Uniform for my wedding later this year and have noticed a difference in service striped in various pictures- the regular, two inch service stripes, and the large, ceremonial service/overseas stripes. What does the reg say? I couldn't seem to pinpoint anything in 670-1...
(see photos for examples)
(see photos for examples)
Dress Uniform
Uniforms
Wedding
Regulation
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 19
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The larger stripes (in the center of the picture) are on the old dress blue uniform and are now only worn on the mess dress.
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SGM Robin Johnson
"Dress blues and tennis shoes" or "Dress blues, tennis shoes, and a light coat of oil" used to mean getting dressed up, or sometimes used to refer to those who never seemed to get their hands dirty (as in 'the folks at HQ in dress blues and tennis shoes'). It was also sometimes used when asked what the uniform was, or if you were told to be somewhere it could be equivalent to 'with bells on' or just added emphasis to the order for everyone to be there looking sharp. Yeah, I'm old. I came in in Feb 1980 serving in all MTOE units - still plenty of Vietnam vets and we had a LOT of colorful phrases. Heard this more from the Marines working near us though.
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SFC Ron Gitzendanner
SGM Robin Johnson - Thanks, SGM Johnson! Great description and oh what
memories. Another old one comes to mind...have to clean it up a tad for here...."F&%$ 'em all but 10...6 pallbearers, 2 road guards, 1 counting cadence, and 1 carrying the Guidon"!!! The only 10 really important people in your life...LOL!! Hey, you aren't "old"...my first enlistment was in 1963 (to 1966), then an 8 year break, then 22 years in active reserve. When I went back in, I told myself that the first thing that pissed me off, I would be instantly history. Years later I told my friends..."It's amazing what you put up with, when you know you don't have to be there". Truth is, I really enjoyed it, had a lot of fun along with all the work, and felt like I really did contribute something, as little as it was. Whats that old saying?..."I wouldn't do it again for a million bucks, BUT I wouldn't take a million bucks for what I did". Thanks again, and Good Luck to you....AND thank YOU for your service!!!!!!
memories. Another old one comes to mind...have to clean it up a tad for here...."F&%$ 'em all but 10...6 pallbearers, 2 road guards, 1 counting cadence, and 1 carrying the Guidon"!!! The only 10 really important people in your life...LOL!! Hey, you aren't "old"...my first enlistment was in 1963 (to 1966), then an 8 year break, then 22 years in active reserve. When I went back in, I told myself that the first thing that pissed me off, I would be instantly history. Years later I told my friends..."It's amazing what you put up with, when you know you don't have to be there". Truth is, I really enjoyed it, had a lot of fun along with all the work, and felt like I really did contribute something, as little as it was. Whats that old saying?..."I wouldn't do it again for a million bucks, BUT I wouldn't take a million bucks for what I did". Thanks again, and Good Luck to you....AND thank YOU for your service!!!!!!
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SSG Richard Hackwith
SGM Robin Johnson - I remember one from the 60s, "C**t cap and shower shoes and right shoulder wall locker",
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Sorry this is bugging me... Your question is valid and this is not directed towards your question, my OCD kicked in with the pictures, when wearing a Bo tie for a formal event such as a wedding, dinning in or out, no headgear is worn and no DUI (distinctive unit insignias) on the lapels which the SSG is clearly wearing. Not sure if others share the same thought but I know this was ingrained in my brain since day one as well as being supported by AR and DA-PAM 670-1. Also the SFC with the belt and sword, I haven't found it yet in the reg but I'm almost positive that if you are the groom, you do not carry this item while wearing the mess uniform unless actually performing equivalent of a security detail, arch with swords, etc in which case he should be wearing headgear and a regular tie. I have never seen it this way therefore it looks weird to me.
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1SG David Spalding
I'm guessing the SFC in the pic is the groom, and he is wearing the 'old' dress blues (therefore the large stripes). As far as the belt and sword, correct - they should not be worn with the mess uniform, but he is not wearing the mess uniform. The no headgear rule is not for just formal events. It is for 'evening' formal events. I was NCOIC of the Honor Guard for my brigade for quite a few years and was trained by the 'Old Guard' in DC. We did a ton of dining-outs, weddings and other formal and informal events. When it comes to weddings, we stuck with the wishes of the couple being married (headgear, no headgear, sabre, bow tie, four-in-hand, etc) as long as the uniform faithfully represented the values and traditions of the Army.
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
The only place you'll find any information about the sword or saber is TC 3-21.5, but it is largely centered around the Drill and Ceremony movement and very little regarding the actual wear of the sword. There are no Army regs that discuss which uniforms you can or cannot wear the sword with (that I'm aware of). That is usually covered by SOP, but more than likely unless you're assigned to an honor guard your SOP won't touch on it. The one constant is that if you are wearing the sword or saber then you are "under arms" and should be wearing headgear, regardless of the uniform you're in.
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SGT (Join to see)
MSG (Join to see) I wore greens once or twice in my day, and I don’t recall ever wearing DUIs on my lapels. The SSG isn’t, either. It looks like he’s wearing a US insignia and Branch insignia, as he should be.
I also don’t recall removing those from my jacket for formal events.
I also don’t recall removing those from my jacket for formal events.
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SGT (Join to see) - the wide stripes you refer to are worn with the OLD "Dress Blue" jacket. The shorter, overseas and service stripes are worn with the NEW ASU.
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The uniform in the middle is the Dress Blues. The stripes are hash marks for years of service. Blues have them on both sleeves. The other one with the Drill Sgt hat is Dress Greens years of service hash marks are on the left sleeve and gold bars for combat service are on the right sleeve. I also agree that if you wear the D/Sgt hat you should wear the regular tie or take the hat off. At one time the regs said that D/Sgts should only wear the round brown when actually performing the D/S duty. That didn't last long.
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When I retired in 2003 my dress blue jacket has the large service stripes on both sleeves, the class A jacket had the service on the left and combat on the right
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To my knowledge, the old style service stripes dating back to the Civil War were authorized on the Dress Blues. When the Army adopted the Blue ASU they switched to the standard service stripe, and the overseas bars on the right sleeve. I retired in 2005 before the switch to the ASU, so I can make up a uniform according to the regulations when I retired. or I can check out the current reg and set up my uniform to the current uniform regulation.
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The photo you posted is the old dress blues.
Do you not have a team or squad leader?
I think this is representative of the sad state of affairs of the Army when soldiers turn to social media for a uniform question. Get into the regs and talk with your leadership.
Do you not have a team or squad leader?
I think this is representative of the sad state of affairs of the Army when soldiers turn to social media for a uniform question. Get into the regs and talk with your leadership.
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SGT (Join to see)
1SG Chris Wunsch A couple of thoughts on your post. First, thank you for the replying to my question. Second, I have a team sergeant (I'm in Civil Affairs, working on four man teams, as a Reservist who only sees my Team Sergeant once per month), who would be glad to answer the question for me the next time I see her. Third, the reason that I turned to 'social media' for answers is as a form of networking. I'm currently working on building my network here on Rallypoint, as well as on LinnkedIn. The way to do so on here is by being involved in the community, hence the question. Additionally, the regs make no mention of the previous service stripes from what I was able to find BEFORE posting the question. I understand your initial skepticism and figuring I was probably just a lazy E-4, but I assure you that's not the case. Again, thank you for your time!
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SFC William Farrell
SGT (Join to see) - Personally I think its a rude and unprofessional response. Your response to him was handle with much more class Matthew.
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Back when we had the Green Class A, there was the Dress Blues with the larger service stripes. The wear date had since passed and now the current ASU with 2-inch stripes is what you need to wear. Now, if you have the money and want to look extra fancy, you can put out for the Dress Mess. Personally, unless you expect to attend many formal military affairs in you career, stick with the ASUs
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the Stripes meaning two different things and there is no over seas strips it combat stripes. According the reg. that larger stripes is on Dress Blues all other stripes is for Class A (green)
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SFC Derahn Thornton
Read the reg Sergeant.....we just nicknamed them "combat stripes." They are actually known as overseas service stipes!
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MSG John Wirts
Yes that term dates way back, WW I (The Great War) until WW II came along. All overseas postings were considered war zone postings. Hence the term "Overseas Stripes". the term stuck, but as we fought limited wars and added states, the definitions of areas eligible for the award of the overseas stripes have been drastically reduced to include only actual combat zones.
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What you have on the top picture are service stripes that were for years for enlistment, not for overseas service. As others stated, they were phased out for the ASU when they combines the Class A and the Dress Blue, and sleeve stripes now follow the Class A convention (ie standard sized stripes). As SGM Steve Wettstein stated, the large ceremonial stripes are now only worn with the Mess uniform.
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