This beret flash and oval—technically known as an “organizational flash” and “Airborne background trimming, respectively—were worn by the Long-Range Surveillance Detachment (LRSD) of the 117th Cavalry Regiment’s 5th Squadron. Its yellow and red colors are associated with both Armor and Cavalry, quite fitting since the Regiment was once assigned to the 50th Armored Division as the 50th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron before being organized as an actual element division under the designation 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, 50th Armor Regiment.
The flash was worn on the maroon beret authorized for wear only by personnel in Airborne units, centered on the stiffener of the beret so the flash would be positioned over the wearer’s left eye when the beret was properly worn. Officers wore their non-subdued, pin-on rank insignia centered on the flash, while NCOs and Junior Enlisted instead wore the 117th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (or Regimental Distinctive Insignia—see below).
Two Enlisted personnel exempt from this guidance are the Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) and the SEAC (Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; they wear the unique collar insignia designed for those posts, as do personnel serving in the office of the SMA.
While all personnel in the Squadron’s LRS Detachment was authorized to wear the flash, the oval was worn only by those who had earned a Parachutist or Air Assault badge. The badge was worn centered on the oval (although the star and star-wreath “crests” of the Sr. and Mstr. Parachutist badge unavoidably projected above the oval), thus the term “background trimming.
Today, the oval is worn on Service Uniform coats (AGSU, ASU, and ASU Dress variation) and Service Uniform shirts, as well as on the blue or green Army Maternity Tunic (female Soldiers only), and wear guidance for both the oval and the flash can be found in DA PAM 670-1,
paragraph 21-32, with additional guidance for insignia worn on the flash found in
paragraph 4-10(e) of DA PAM 670-1
But at the time that the 117th Cavalry Regiment was still active (it became the 102nd Cavalry Regiment following consolidation with the 102nd Armored Regiment in 2008), the blue ASU had not yet completely replaced the old Army Green Service Uniform, and the oval was not authorized for wear on the blue Dress Uniform. Instead, it was worn on the Army green coat, the AG 415 shirt, and by females on the Maternity Tunic (also referred to as “maternity uniform tunic”). Veterans wishing to re-create their uniforms from the era of the original Army Green Service Uniform can click here to view the
pertinent paragraph of the 2005 edition of AR 670-1 in a new tab or window.
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117th Cavalry Regiment, 5th Squadron Distinctive Unit Insignia