The 504th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion organizational flash was approved on 8 July 1992. It is worn by all personnel in the Battalion, regardless of their assignment or Airborne-related qualifications, on the maroon beret that is been authorized for members of Airborne units since 1981. Both insignias use the same design as those for the 504th Regiment HQ and HQ Company, with the addition of two small notches that signify its numerical designation in the organization.
As a general rule, Officers wear their non-subdued insignia of grade centered on the stiffener of the maroon beret (Generals’ stars may extend beyond the edge of the flash) and NCOs and Junior Enlisted wear their Distinctive Unit Insignia (or Regimental Distinctive Insignia if their unit has no DUI) centered on it. Exceptions are detailed in DA PAM 670-1,
paragraph 19–21(c)2 .
Officially known as Airborne background trimming, the oval is reserved for those Battalion personnel who have qualified for an Air Assault or Parachutist badge. The oval is worn beneath the badges, which are placed on the oval with the main portion of the badge—i.e., excluding the star and wreath at the top of the Senior and Master Parachutist badges—centered on it.
Counted as a single item when worn together, ovals and badges are worn by both male and female Battalion personnel on Service Uniform coats (AGSU and ASU/ASU Dress) and Service Uniform shirts (except on the Class B AGSU), as well as by females on the blue or green Army Maternity Tunic. Detailed instruction on the wear of Airborne background trimming is found in DA PAM 670-1,
paragraph 19–31(b)2.
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Nicknamed “White Devils” as opposed to the “Red Devils” of the Regiment’s 1st Battalion, the 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry Team is assigned to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and is stationed along with the Regiment’s HHC and 1st Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The Battalion traces its history to 24 February 1942 and the constitution of the 504th Infantry; the 2nd Battalion was constituted as the Regiment’s Company B. Except for a brief stint assigned to the 11th Airborne Division, the Battalion has been assigned to or an element of the 82nd Airborne Division since it was assigned to the Division in August 1942.
As one of the Army’s first Airborne units, the Battalion took part in the first-ever Airborne assault during the invasion of Sicily, earning one of three Arrowhead devices to complement its Sicily, Anzio, and Rhineland campaign streamers. Its World War II military decorations include three Presidential Unit Citations, Military Order of William, Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and a Belgian Fourragere for its two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
The Battalion’s battle honors after World War II include two Armed Forces Expeditions (it earned another Arrowhead for a Parachute assault in the invasion of Panama), two campaigns in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991, and three campaigns in the War on Terrorism. Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan on numerous occasions, the Battalion has been tapped for two Meritorious Unit Commendations and three Meritorious Unit Commendations for over a decade of service between 2003 and 2014.
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