Nicknamed hashmarks, service stripes are issued by the Coast Guard in recognition of a prescribed length of service by enlisted personnel. Originally, one service stripe was issued for every three years of Coast Guard service. Today, a stripe represents four years of active or reserve service—and that service can be not only in the Coast Guard, but also the Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force, and National Guard, or any combination of those services. Also, the four years need not be consecutive.
Enlisted personnel are issued scarlet or navy blue stripes, while CPOS receive gold. The backing fabric for the embroidered stripes matches the uniform fabric on which the service stripes are to be sewn. Stripes are sewn on at 45-degree with the lower edge of the lowest stripe two inches from the cuff. Our set of six stripes, authorized for Guardsmen who have twenty-four to twenty-seven years of qualifying service, are sewn onto the appropriate fabric with 1/4” spacing between adjacent stripes.