Posted on Nov 19, 2018
Does Kuwait still qualify as a Overseas service Bar?
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I Went to Kuwait June 14 2016 - Feb 18 2017 in OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (SPARTAN SHIELD) KUWAIT( word for word) . I was told by my buddy today that in his board they said he did not earn his overseas service bar for that same Kuwait rotation and had to take it off. From what I read in AR 670-1 Para. 19-28 it says nothing of the sort that would not allow us to wear it on our ASUs. Is there something I am missing ? We were there for 8 months and some change. Camp Patriot for majority of the time. Thank you in advance.
Posted in these groups: 
Kuwait
DA Pam 670-1
Kuwait DA Pam 670-1
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 10
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I agree with your findings. My wife went through Camp Arifjan and got her oversea's ribbon for the same thing, in support of OEF. It is on her ERB.
In a moment like that at the board, I believe that we should do our best to communicate our findings in the board and stand our ground, but respect what the board is saying and navigate the situation tactfully.
Either way, they're wrong. You are not missing anything. It would seem that they are ones not tracking the regulation.
I remember getting gigged for putting a Star on my Afghan ribbon, but the reg clearly states you that for certain periods of the OEF, you need a star on your ribbon. It signified different phases of the Operation if I remember right. My board didn't know this, thought I was full of shit even after I told them. Oh well!
In a moment like that at the board, I believe that we should do our best to communicate our findings in the board and stand our ground, but respect what the board is saying and navigate the situation tactfully.
Either way, they're wrong. You are not missing anything. It would seem that they are ones not tracking the regulation.
I remember getting gigged for putting a Star on my Afghan ribbon, but the reg clearly states you that for certain periods of the OEF, you need a star on your ribbon. It signified different phases of the Operation if I remember right. My board didn't know this, thought I was full of shit even after I told them. Oh well!
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1LT (Join to see)
Wow, that was a stupid mistake on my part. Yes, I read that as ribbon. None the less, my point still stands. Wife also has a bar for her time in Kuwait.
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In short you are NOT authorized the bar. Overseas Service Bars for OEF ended on 31 December 2014. If you're orders read "OPERATION INHERENT RESOLVE" or OIR then you would have earned the bar.
(12) Participation in OEF, in the CENTCOM area of operations, and under the control of the Combatant Commander, CENTCOM, between 11 September 2001 and 31 December 2014; OEF-Philippines, in the Philippines, between 19 September 2001 and 31 December 2014; OEF-Horn of Africa, in Djibouti, between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2014. The months of arrival to, and departure from the Philippines, Djibouti, or the CENTCOM area of operations are counted as whole months.
(12) Participation in OEF, in the CENTCOM area of operations, and under the control of the Combatant Commander, CENTCOM, between 11 September 2001 and 31 December 2014; OEF-Philippines, in the Philippines, between 19 September 2001 and 31 December 2014; OEF-Horn of Africa, in Djibouti, between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2014. The months of arrival to, and departure from the Philippines, Djibouti, or the CENTCOM area of operations are counted as whole months.
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I was stationed in Alaska in the 80's and that was considered overseas back then
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I was under the impression that anything OCONUS (including Alaska and Hawaii) counted as overseas service.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Hawaii is not OCONUS... I was just there and the admin section at PACOM confirmed this.
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CPT (Join to see)
Don't mistake the overseas service bar with overseas ribbon. The Bar is often referred to as "combat stripes". They are earned for named operations outlined in a MILPR message. The OSR is for a completed tour overseas. For example being stationed in Germany for 3 years you would receive the OSR but not a bar for that assignment.
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Look at your DD 214 it should tell you the ribbons that you are allowed to wear. Although OEF was an Afghanistan campaign so I'm not sure about that. Kuwait is OCONUS so if you have orders for it and were there longer then 6 months then it should be approved
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You should be able to look at your ERB in the deployment section and it should tell you how many months you have been deployed. Now if you PCSed there that may be a different story.
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SGT Gillette C. Did you get a memorandum for record or orders authorizing the award of a "combat patch" or an overseas service bar? Did you receive " combat pay or Hazzardous Duty pay? If not you probably don't qualify.
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SGT (Join to see)
LTC John Mohor SSG (Join to see) Isn’t Kuwait is a part of Inherent Resolve? 670-1 states that,
15) Participation in OIR, in the CENTCOM area of operations, and under the control of the Combatant Commander, CENTCOM, between 15 June 2014 and a date to be determined. The months of arrival to, and departure from the CENTCOM area of operations are counted as whole months.
It doesn’t mention combat or hazard pay being a requirement.
15) Participation in OIR, in the CENTCOM area of operations, and under the control of the Combatant Commander, CENTCOM, between 15 June 2014 and a date to be determined. The months of arrival to, and departure from the CENTCOM area of operations are counted as whole months.
It doesn’t mention combat or hazard pay being a requirement.
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SSG (Join to see)
Exactly it states nowhere in the regulations about combat pay etc. Its an Overseas service Bar.
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SGT (Join to see)
SSG (Join to see) - also, was spartan shield a part of OEF in that time period? Hadn’t OEF ended by then and OIR started?
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Hawaii earns an Overseas Ribbon. (One day, I will play the raconteur and share my memories of OPERATION MAI TAI on Waikiki...)
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