The organizational flash and Airborne background trimming insignias for the 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment were approved on 8 July 1992, the same date that the same insignias were approved for the Regiment’s HQ and HQ Company.
Though causally referred to as a beret flash, the term organizational flash is more accurate for this insignia because it points to the specific organization in which the wearer is serving. The flash is worn centered on the stiffener of the maroon beret, with Battalion Officers wearing their non-subdued insignia of grade centered on the flash and all NCOs and Junior Enlisted Soldiers wearing the 505th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, or Regimental Distinctive Insignia (RDI). Soldiers in units for which a Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) has been approved would wear it instead of the RDI.
Airborne background trimming insignias are better known as ovals for their easily identified shape. Ovals are worn beneath Parachutist and/or Air Assault badges, effectively making a “trim” around the badge’s edge except for the star and wreath portions of Senior and Master Parachutist badges. When worn together, the badge and oval count as one device toward the maximum allowable number of devices specified for a given uniform type.
Ovals are authorized for wear on the AGSU and ASU coats and shirts (except for the shirt of the Class B AGSU uniform) and for the blue or green Army Maternity Tunics (female Soldiers only) worn by personnel serving in units that have been designated as Airborne or Air Assault.
Detailed wear guidance on oval-badge placement, including maximum number of badges, is found in
Chapter 22-16 (b), "Wear of nonsubdued combat and special skill badges and special skill tab metal replicas,"of the January 2021 Edition of DA PAM 670-1.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Constituted in the Army of the United States as Company A, 505th Parachute Infantry on 24 June 1942, the 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment took part in three parachute assaults and fought in a total of six campaigns during World War II on its way to earning two Presidential Unit Citations and a host of foreign military decorations, including two French Croix de Guerre with Palm awards and a French Fourragere, the Military Order of William, a Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and Belgian Fourragere 1940 for two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
Since that time, the Battalion has seen combat in every major conflict involving the U.S. since with the exception of the Korean War, fighting in seven campaigns in Vietnam that were recognized with the Republic of Vietnam (ROV) Cross of Gallantry with Palm award and two ROV Civil Action Honor Medals, First Class) and two campaigns in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991. It also was deployed to the Dominican Republic in the 1960s (Operation Power Pack) and to Grenada in 1983 (Operation Urgent Fury).
It has also been extremely active in the War on Terrorism. Though officially credited with only one campaign, the Battalion has been the recipient of two Valorous Unit Awards and four Meritorious Unit Commendations issued for service between 2003 and 2015.
As of July 2021, the 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Related Items
505th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI)