Vietnam Service Medal was awarded to any service member who served more than thirty consecutive days, or 60 non-consecutive days, in the Republic of Vietnam between the dates of 1961-11-15 and 1973-03-28, and from 29 April 1975 to 30 April 1975 . For those service members who supported Vietnam operations from another country (such as Thailand), the Vietnam Service Medal may be authorized if such activity was in direct support of Vietnam combat operations and if such combat support exceeded 30–60 days. For the United States Navy, vessels operating in Vietnamese waters qualify for the Vietnam Service Medal provided that the naval vessel was engaged in direct support of Vietnam combat operations. The U.S. Air Force also grants the Vietnam Service Medal for 30–60 days of flight missions in Vietnamese air space, even if the home base of the flight mission was not within the Republic of Vietnam.