The 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion Airborne background trimming—nicknamed “oval” for obvious reasons—was approved for wear on 29 February 1988. It is worn as a backing for Parachutist and Air Assault badges on the Service Uniform coat (AGSU and ASU, including the dress version of the ASU), the Class B ASU shirt, and Army Maternity Tunic.
Its name is derived from its use as a backing for the two badges, which are centered on the embroidered oval to create a trim or border around the badge save for the star and wreathed star found atop the Senior and Master Parachutist badges.
These two items are considered a single device toward the maximum number of badges or devices allowed on a given uniform type, with the outer edge of the oval (and the top of the star or wreath or the aforementioned Parachutist badge) used when measuring distances for positioning purposes. Please refer to DA PAM 670-1,
Chapters 21-32 (b) and
22-16 (b) for detailed guidance on the wear and placement of the oval-badge combination.
The 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment has been assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division since 16 September 2004. Its roots go back to August 1917 and its constitution as Company A, 327th Infantry Regiment, an element of the 82nd Division. Fighting as part of the 164th Brigade, the Battalion took part in three campaigns in France before returning to the United States and demobilization in May 1919.
In 1942, the Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as Company A, 327th Glider Infantry, an element of the 101st Airborne Division. It took part in assault landings in two of the four World War II campaigns in which it fought with the 101st Airborne Division, earning a Presidential Unit Citation and the Special Designation “Bastogne Bulldogs” for its defense of the Belgian village of the same name.
Its resolute determination and heroic actions during the Battle of the Bulge were also recognized with military awards from France (French Croix de Guerre with Palm), the Netherlands (Orange Langyard), and Belgium (Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm, Belgian Fourragere).
In the 1950s, the Company underwent a series of activations/inactivations and was briefly designated as Company A, 327th Airborne Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division (for less than a year) and as HQ and HQ Company, 1st Airborne Battle Group, 327th Infantry beginning in 1957. The unit was given its current designation of 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry on 3 February 1964 and, while still assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, fought in fifteen campaigns in Vietnam.
Its service during the Vietnam conflict was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation, a Valorous Unit Award, and a Meritorious Unit Commendation, complemented by three Republic of Vietnam (ROV) Cross of Gallantry with Palm awards for service between 1966 and 1971 and an ROV Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class. The Battalion would not see combat again until 1991, when it fought in Operation Desert Storm and earned its second Valorous Unit Award.
The Battalion’s assignment to the 101st Airborne Division was modified when it was assigned to to the Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team in September 2004 after it had already earned another Valorous Unit Award and Meritorious Unit Commendation for service in Iraq . Over the next dozen years, the Battalion would undergo several deployments to Iraq, earning three more MUCs for service between 2005 and 2015.
Its most recent activity was its September 2021 participation in a major air-assault exercise called Noble Bastogne alongside the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, also a part of the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team.