In the United States Army and United States Air Force, a beret flash is a shield-shaped embroidered cloth or metallic insignia attached to a stiffener backing of a military beret. The flash attached to the stiffener is worn over the left eye of the wearer with the excess cloth of the beret folded and pulled over the right ear giving it a distinctive shape. The embroidered designs of the US Army beret flashes represent the approved distinctive heraldic colors of the unit to which they are assigned while the US Air Force's represent their Air Force specialty code (AFSC). US Army soldiers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) attach their unit's distinctive unit insignia (DUI) on the center of their unit's flash while warrant officers and commissioned officers attach their rank insignia to the center of the flash. US Air Force commissioned officers who are in the Air Liaison Officer carrier field (AFSC 13LX), Security Forces carrier field (AFSC 31PX), or assigned as Combat Aviation Advisors (CAA) do the same while commissioned officers assigned to other AFSCs that are authorized to wear metallic flashes attach a miniature version of their rank insignia below their flash. US Air Force airman and NCOs only wear their flash or flash and crest on AFSC and unit specific berets. Joint beret flashes, such as the Multinational Force and Observers and United Nations Peacekeeping flashes, are worn by all of the US armed forces on uniquely colored berets while assigned to a specific multinational mission.
Video United States military beret flash
History
US Army
It is not clear when beret flashes began to be used by the US Army. However, US Army films between 1956 and 1962 suggest beret flashes may have been introduced around 1961, when the green beret was officially authorized for wear by members of the US Army Special Forces.
Beret flashes began to appear with more conventional forces in the 1970s when the US Army's armored cavalry regiments in Germany began wearing black berets with red and white cloth ovals to the left of the wearer's rank insignia. By 1979, the US Army put a stop to the use of berets by conventional forces.
In 1980 the US Army reversed its decision for airborne units allowing them to wear the maroon beret; soon thereafter unit specific beret flashes began to appear. The design of each airborne unit's beret flash was created and/or approved by the US Army Institute of Heraldry and based on the design of the unit's background trimming, which made their debut in World War II.
In late 2000, when the Chief of Staff of the Army decided to make the black beret the standard headgear of the US Army, GEN Eric Shinseki also decided that all units that did not have a distinctive organizational flash will wear a new universal one. According to Pam Reece of the US Army Institute of Heraldry, "The [US Army] flash is designed to closely replicate the colors of the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the time of its victory at Yorktown."
US Air Force
In 1957, the Strategic Air Command's Elite Guard was the first US Air Force unit officially authorized to wear berets. The first beret flash worn on this dark-blue beret was a small metal full-color replicas of the Strategic Air Command patch. In 1966/67, the first US Air Force Security Police beret was issued by the 1041st Security Police Squadron (SPS); the 1041st SPS used a depiction of a falcon on a light blue patch as its beret flash until the unit was disbanded in 1968. In February 1976, the US Air Force Uniform Board approved the dark-blue beret as an official uniform item for the US Air Force's police and security forces. The beret flash used on these dark-blue berets was a small metal full-color replica of the unit's major command patch until March 1997 when the heraldry of the 1041st SPS was honored by mandating a new universal flash depicting the early SPS falcon over an airfield with the motto "Defensor Fortis" embroidered on a scroll at the base of the flash.
In 1966, the US Air Force authorized the wear of the maroon beret by Pararescuemen. Initial wear of the beret followed the trend of the US Army Special Forces who wore their Parachutist Badge over the wearer's left eye acting as the beret's flash. Historical photographs have shown graduates of the US Air Force Pararescue School wearing the Pararescueman Beret Flash on their newly earned berets in a Fall 1975 class photograph; however, it is unclear when the Pararescueman Beret Flash became an official part of the uniform.
Historical photos of Vietnam Era US Air Force Combat Controllers show them wearing black berets that were worn in the same manner as the Pararescuemen and Special Forces berets of the era, with their Parachutist Badge used as the beret's flash. No other information has yet been found as to when the Combat Controller Beret Flash started to be worn on their scarlet beret or when it became an official part of the uniform.
In 1979, US Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Airman were given authorization to wear the black beret. In 1984, two TACP Airman submitted a design for a unique beret flash and crest that would be worn on the beret in the same manner as the US Army. The US Air Force approved the design and authorized all TACP Airman to wear the new flash and crest in 1985. Soon thereafter, Air Liaison Officers (ALOs) were also given authorization to wear the black beret and the TACP flash (no crest).
Although there is limited information on the US Air Force Special Operations Weather Technician (SOWT) beret flash, historical photographs show the use of two unique cloth flashes that were worn on their distinctive gray beret along with a small metal Combat Weather Team crest. Around 2010, the flashes and crest were replaced with a large metal Special Operations Weather Flash similar to the current Pararescueman and Combat Controller flashes.
Maps United States military beret flash
Beret flashes currently in use
Joint beret flashes
US Army
Airborne units
Special operations airborne units
US Air Force
See also
- Air Assault Badge--Background Trimmings
- Badges of the United States Air Force
- Uniforms of the United States Army
- Uniforms of the United States Air Force
- Air Force Special Operations Command
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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