Posted on Feb 12, 2018

What are service stripes and how do you get them?

Will Boyd

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Service

Posted 6 y ago

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SGT Eric Davis

Posted 6 y ago

Indicates how many years of service you have and 1 stripe for 3 years of service and you get them by joining and servicing your country!

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LTC Jason Mackay

6 y

AR670-1 paragraph 19-27

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SPC (Join to see)

3 y

Is it three years of service or 3 years of active duty service? I’m in the national guard

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LCDR (Join to see)

Posted 6 y ago

The Navy and Marine Corps Enlisted members wear them on the left lower sleeve of the uniform. Each service stripe (we call them 'Hash Marks') indicates FOUR YEARS' service, unlike the Army which uses them to indicate THREE years.

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SSG Jim Husselman

3 y

Here Is a secret the army calls them hash Mark's also.

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Robert Wright

>1 y

I believe the Marines wear them on both lower sleeves. The Navy, only the lower left.

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Sgt (Join to see)

Edited 6 y ago

Posted 6 y ago

Will Boyd The United States Army authorizes one stripe for each three year period of service, while the United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard authorizes one stripe for each four year period of duty. The United States Air Force is the only branch of service that does not authorize service stripes. The Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon is awarded instead.

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Service_stripe.html

Service stripe

A service stripe, commonly called a hash mark, is a decoration of the United States military which is authorized for wear by enlisted members of the U.S. military to denote length of service.

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LTC (Join to see)

4 y

oddly enough, if you are prior USAF and in the Army, you can wear service stripes for your time spent in the USAF. Even more odd, though prior enlisted officers don't wear service stripes, prior commissioned enlisted can wear service stripes for the time spent as an officer/WO.

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CW3 Art Farash

3 y

When I first joined the Air Force in 1955 all the NCOs were still wearing service stripes on the old and new uniforms and my first First Sgt who was about 60 had his entire sleeve full of stripes - siilver like the rank insignia. Some o those guys in were in the Army Engineers and and before that the CCC.

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Robert Wright

>1 y

I think former members of the AAF were allowed to continue to wear their hash marks on the new AF uniforms. I think there was a similar policy for numbered AF/unit patches. They all phased out as AAF veterans left or just stopped wearing them.

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What are service stripes and how do you get them?

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