Officially referred to as Airborne background trimming, the 508th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion oval was approved for wear on 23 November 2005. It was subsequently amended to change the description/design on 5 January 2006.
Airborne background trimming is both a name and a description: the oval is worn beneath two types of Airborne-related badges, the Air Assault and Parachutist, to form a trimming or border for the decoration. Today, the combination of the oval and badge, which are considered a single item when counting medals and devices on a uniform, is authorized for wear on Service Uniform coats (AGSU and ASU) and shirts (ASU only), as well as on the blue or green Army Maternity Tunic (female Soldiers only).
The January 2021 edition of DA PAM 670-1 has up-to-date instructions on the wear of the flash and the oval in
Chapter 21-32, subsections (a) and (b) respectively, and detailed instructions on the number and positioning of Skill badges such as these are found in
Chapter 22-16 (b).
The 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment was constituted in the Army of the United States as Company A, 508th Parachute Infantry on 6 October 1942. It fought in four campaigns in the European Theater during World War II, with two of the campaign streamers augmented by Arrowhead devices for taking part in an assault landing. Its courage and outstanding service were recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation, a French Fourragere, World War II and two French Croix de Guerre with Palm awards, the Military Order of William, Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and a Belgian Fourragere 1940 and three citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
In April 1951, the Company was redesignated as Company A, 508th Airborne Infantry, followed by another redesignation less than a dozen years later to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry.
Under this designation, the unit fought in seven campaigns in Vietnam and three Armed Forces Expeditions, and one campaign in the War on Terrorism, earning Arrowhead devices for Operation Just Cause (Panama) and the Liberation of Iraq (for which it was also awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC). Its military decorations over that period include a Valorous Unit Award for its defense of Saigon and the Battle of Hue, a Republic of Vietnam (ROV) Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and an ROV Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class.
On 1 October 2005, the unit was given its current designation of 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment and assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. Over the next seven-and-a-half years, it would take part in at least three campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan (its total campaign credits are yet to be determined) and earn two Valorous Unit Awards to complement the MUC it earned in 2003.
With the inactivation of the 4th Brigade Combat Team in 2014, the Battalion was reassigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division and remains in that assignment as of October 2021.
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508th Infantry Regiment Unit Crest (DUI)