U.S. ARMY 504TH INFANTRY REGIMENT, 3RD BATTALION BERET FLASH AND/OR OVAL

The 504th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion organizational flash and oval (officially known as Airborne background trimming) have been worn since 28 January 1992 (per the reference book U.S. Army Patches, Flashes and Ovals by Barry Jason Stein). Because the Battalion was inactivated in 2006, neither insignia is authorized for wear by active-duty Army personnel.

Also called a beret flash, this shield-shaped insignia was worn centered on the stiffener of the maroon beret, the color chosen by the Army in 1981 for wear by personnel serving in a unit that is designated as Airborne. Officers wear their non-subdued insignia of grade centered on the flash, while NCOs and Junior Enlisted Soldiers wear either their Distinctive Unit Insignia (if applicable) or their Regimental Distinctive Unit Insignia (also centered on the flash).

Ovals are called Airborne background trimming because they are worn underneath Parachutist and Air Assault badges on Service Uniform coats and shirts (except on the Class B AGSU uniform) and on the green or blue Army Maternity Tunic (female Soldiers only), but only if the badge holder is in a unit that is designated as “Airborne” or “Air Assault.” The two items are considered as one for placement and measurement purposes, with measuring done from the edge of the oval or, for Senior and Master Parachutists badges, from the edge of the star or wreath on top. Detailed guidance on the wear of ovals is found DA PAM 670-1, paragraph 21–32(b)2.
 
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The 3rd Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment was originally constituted as Company C, 504th Parachute Infantry on 24 February 1942 in the Army of the United States. It would fight in six campaigns during World War II, earning three Arrowhead devices for taking part in Airborne assaults along with three Presidential Unit Citations and several foreign military decorations (Military Order of William, Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and Belgian Fourragere 1940 for two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army).

Several reorganizations and redesignations and an eleven-year period of inactivation limited the Battalion’s deployments over the decades following World War II, but when it did see action again during Operation Just Cause it resulted in another Arrowhead device for a Parachute assault. The battalion fought in two campaigns of the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991, with its outstanding performance in both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm recognized with a Meritorious Unit Commendation.

In 2003, the 3rd Battalion was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division which was deployed to Afghanistan, and for its courageous service against armed enemy combatants  between 17 January 2003 and 17 August 2003 it was rewarded a Valorous Unit Award issued in April 2008—two years after the Battalion had been inactivated.

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