The policy shift, issued last week, covers soldiers who served in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, ...

Eligibility for the patch "does not authorize pay entitlements such as hostile fire pay, imminent danger pay, or combat zone ...

Soldiers who deployed to 15 countries in Africa and the Middle East between October 2023 and June 2025 are now authorized to wear combat patches, according to a policy released last week.