More commonly known as background trimming,
the oval worn by Parachutist and Air Assault badges was authorized for wear by members of the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion, Long Range Surveillance (LRS) Detachment on 10 January 1989. Ovals are worn beneath the badges and are worn by all eligible personnel on Service Uniform coats (AGSU, ASU, and ASU Dress variation) and Service Uniform shirts; it is also worn by female Soldiers on the green or blue Army Maternity Tunic. The badge and oval count as a single item toward maximum number of badges or devices authorized for the above uniforms.
The date of approval for the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion, LRS Detachment flash, officially referred to as an organizational flash in Army regulations, is not known. Like the oval, it uses both oriental blue and silver gray, the primary and secondary branch colors first assigned to the Army Intelligence and Security Branch in October 1962 and retained when the branch was redesignated the Military Intelligence Corps on 16 June 1967.
Flashes are worn beneath the colored beret signifying the unit’s organizational affiliation. Officers wear their non-subdued, pin-on insignia of grade centered on the flash, while Junior Enlisted Soldiers and NCOs wear the their unit crest, or Distinctive Unit Insignia, with Regimental Distinctive Insignia worn instead in the event a unit does not have a unit crest.
The 110th Military Intelligence Battalion was activated as a separate Battalion of the 10th Mountain Division on 13 December 1988. The bulk of its service throughout the 1990s involved support of humanitarian missions such as (but not limited to) Operations Restore Hope and Continue Hope in Somalia and Operation Uphold Democracy; it also assisted in disaster relief following Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Its final deployment before inactivation in September 2004 was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and lasted from March 2003 to May 2005. The superior service of the Battalion during this lengthy deployment was recognized with its selection for a Meritorious Unit Commendation that was announced by the Department of the Army on 14 August 2009.
You can learn more about the unit’s history and lineage by visiting the store page devoted to the
U.S. Army 110th Military Intelligence Battalion Unit Crest.