a. Authorization. OPNAVNOTE 1650 of 3 June 1987.

b. Eligibility Requirements

(1) General. Awarded to officers and enlisted personnel of the United States Navy, United States Naval Reserve, United States Marine Corps and United States Marine Corps Reserve. Each service has distinct criteria that delineates eligibility; Navy personnel assigned to Marine Corps units follow Marine Corps policy, and vice versa.

(2) Specific

(a) Active Duty Personnel: 12-months consecutive or accumulated duty at overseas shore base duty station.

(b) Inactive Reservists: 30 consecutive days or 45 cumulative days of active duty for training, annual training (AT), or TAD at overseas duty stations, including deployed units and units homeported overseas. Travel time and weekend training does not count.

Note: For overseas domiciled Inactive Reservists, 30 consecutive days of AT or IDT must be completed, or a combination of 45 cumulative days of AT or IDT in a billet with an established Overseas Naval Reserve Unit or as a member of the Overseas Peacetime (Contributory) Support Program (for accounting purposes, two IDT periods equal 1 day of AT).

(c) Overseas is defined as duty outside the United States (Mainland Alaska and Hawaii are not eligible duty stations) at shore base commands. Service in Adak, Alaska does qualify. For active duty personnel, duty on board CONUS-based, deploying ships, squadrons, units or with the FMF does not qualify.

(3) Initial and subsequent awards. Qualifying service performed between 15 August 1974 and 1 January 1979 will be credited only toward the initial award of the ribbon. Subsequent to 1 January 1979, one award for each qualifying period.

(4) Restrictions and Waivers. An individual cannot receive the SSDR and OSR for the same period if stationed at a Marine Corps Unit; overseas Navy commands may receive both awards after 01 October 1999. In addition, the same period of time cannot be used to earn eligibility for both the Naval Reserve Sea Service Ribbon and the Overseas Service Ribbon.

(5) For active duty personnel not more than 14-days may be waived. For inactive reservists - no waiver. For posthumous awards, the time requirements may be waived by CNO/CMC in posthumous cases on a case by case basis.

(6) Personnel serving with the FMF, regular or reserve, do not qualify for this award.

(7) Awarding Authority. Commanding officers.

(8) Subsequent Awards. A 3/16-inch bronze star will denote subsequent awards.

NOTE: Reservists who were recalled to active duty, such as for Operation DESERT STORM, must fulfill requirements for active duty personnel. Any period of more than 90 days is considered active duty.