service coat or field jacket, and the bar of golden cloth was for wear on the shirt. Time was computed between the dates of departure from the continental United States and the dates of arrival back to the United States, with the date of departure and date of arrival being counted. Time for the purposes of awarding a bar was calculated either continuously, or at intervals, from 7 December 1941 until "a date 6 months subsequent to the termination of the present war." The Territory of Alaska was considered outside the continental United States for calculating time, but service "on the Great Lakes and in any harbor, bay, or other enclosed arm of the sea along the coast, and that part of the sea which is within 3 miles of the coastline of the United States will not be included in computing length of service required." Time where personnel were deemed absent without leave or in a status amounting to desertion was subtracted from total time earned. The bar or bars were to be worn centered on the outside of the sleeve of the service coat, field jacket, or shirt, 4 inches from the sleeve opening. If service stripes (each signifying three years of honorable service for enlisted men) were worn on the service coat, the overseas service bars were to be worn immediately above them. For those who had also performed overseas service in the First World War, the overseas service bar and chevron were worn together. On 2 February 1945, the War Department issued Circular No. 41, which rescinded paragraph 4b of Circular No. 268, 1944, and substituted for paragraph 2 that the background would be made of olive drab felt or "of the same material and color as the garment on which worn" and authorized overseas service bars for wear on the "service coat, winter and summer shirt, field jacket, work clothing, and special suits or jackets." The production of bars made of golden rayon was authorized. In 1953, the Overseas Service Bar adopted its current name, and the patch was moved to be worn on the lower right sleeve, instead of the left. Prior to the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was rare for an individual to have more than four Overseas Service Bars. Due to the protracted nature of the recent conflicts with resulting multiple deployments, it is not unusual for senior officers