service stripe

American  

noun

Military.

1. a stripe worn on the left sleeve by an enlisted person to indicate a specific period of time served on active duty.

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Etymology

Origin of service stripe

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

The Tellegen interlude, she claimed long ago, left only "a surface scar," "a single service stripe" in a vividly striped career.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hash Mark—enlistment or service stripe, worn on sleeve.

From Rhymes of the Rookies by Christian, W. E.

He’d have a grosbeak ‘skun a mile’!” gasped Stud, following the direction of her glance, with a virtuous consciousness of his own cave-soiled khaki, moderately lit by merit badge and service stripe.

From Pemrose Lorry, Camp Fire Girl by Hornibrook, Isabel Katherine

Yours till Archie gets a service stripe Bill Dere Mable: Theyve made me a door tender to a Soizant Cans.

From "Same old Bill, eh Mable!" by Breck, G. William