Simply called “flash” for short, an organizational flash is worn on a colored beret denoting a particular type of unit, which in the case of the Company D, 82nd Aviation Regiment would be maroon for Airborne*. (The other organizational berets are green for Special Forces, tan for Ranger, and brown for Security Force Assistance Command/Brigade.) Flashes are centered on the beret stiffener, with Officers wearing their insignia of rank on them and NCOs and Junior Enlisted personnel wearing their Distinctive Unit Insignia or Regimental Distinctive Insignia (if their unit does not have a DUI.
Ovals are known as background trimming in Army Regulations and are worn behind the Parachutist or Air Assault badges. The oval and badge are considered a single item for the purposes of uniform badge limits and for measuring purposes (measuring is done from the outermost edges of the oval or badge). They are worn on the coats worn with the AGSU and blue ASU, Service Uniform Shirts, and the blue or green Army Maternity tunic.
Company D, 82nd Aviation Regiment was originally constituted 16 September 1979, before the 82nd Aviation became a regiment, and was activated at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty). The transition of the 82nd from Battalion to Regiment led to its redesignation in 1987 as Company D, 82nd Aviation, a process that was repeated when the Regiment’s designation changed (when the Army began adding the word “Regiment” to the end of all Regiment designations) in October 2005.
Inactivated in June 2006, the Company was reactivated when it was assigned to the 17th Combat Aviation Brigade, which is made up entirely of elements of the 82nd Aviation Regiment. With the new assignment, the Company became an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV( asset equipped with MC-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft systems.
(*Note: UAV units are not considered to be Airborne.)
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