In the United States (US) military, a beret flash is a shield-shaped embroidered cloth that is typically tall and wide with a semi–circular base that is attached to a stiffener backing of a military beret."Department of the Army Pamphlet 670–1, Uniform and Insignia Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia", Department of the Army, dated 26 January 2021, last accessed 6 December 2022 Beret Insignia of the U.S. Army, by William A Hudspeath, dated 1987, "AR 670–1 1981 (OBSOLETE):Wear and appearance of Army uniforms and insignia", Department of the Army via Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library, dated 1 November 1981, last accessed 21 November 2020 These flashes—a British English word for a colorful cloth patch attached to military headgear made popular in US military lexicon by Lieutenant General William P. Yarborough (Ret.)—are worn over the left eye with the excess cloth of the beret shaped, folded, and pulled over the right ear giving it a distinctive appearance."Department of the Air Force Instruction 36-2903: Dress and Personal Appearance of United States Air Force and United States Space Force Personnel", US Department of the Air Force, dated 13 March 2024, last accessed 31 March 2025

Army soldiers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) affix their distinctive unit insignia (DUI), regimental distinctive insignia (when no DUI is authorized), Sergeant Major of the Army collar insignia (when assigned), or Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff collar insignia (when assigned) to the center of their beret flash."11th ABN DIV vets pass unit legacy to newly minted 'Arctic Angels'", Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, by Derrick Crawford, dated 19 July 2022, last accessed 9 July 2023 Army warrant officers and commissioned officers affix their polished metal rank insignia to the center of their beret flash while general officer's may choose to affix regular or miniature polished metal rank insignia. To better distinguish them from other Army personnel, Army chaplains affix their polished metal branch insignia to the center of their beret flash. Air Force commissioned officers who are in the security forces or serving as weather parachutists wear their beret flash in the same manner as the Army while Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) officers attach a miniature version of their polished metal rank insignia below the TACP Crest on the TACP Beret Flash."First African-American Female Grey Beret", 93rd Air-Ground Operations Wing, by 1st Lt Katie Tamesis, dated 31 March 2022, last accessed 7 March 2023 Air Force airmen and NCOs with the security forces only wear their unique beret flash while those assigned as weather parachutists or are TACPs wear their Army–style Combat Weather Team or TACP Beret Flash with a Combat Weather Team or TACP Crest, respectively. Joint beret flashes—such as those worn by the Joint Communications Support Element—are worn by all who are assigned, given their uniform regulations allow, and will wear them in the manner prescribed by the joint unit."Joint Communications Support Element–Government Organization", official Facebook page, last accessed 20 January 2021

The design of all US Department of Defense (DoD) beret flashes are created and/or approved by The Institute of Heraldry (TIOH), within the US Department of the Army."Army Regulation 670–1 (2021), Uniform and Insignia Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia", Department of the Army, dated 26 January 2021, last accessed 11 April 2021 When a requesting organization is entitled to have its own beret flash, the institute will conduct research into the requesting organization's heraldry, as well as design suggestions from the requesting organization, in the creation of a unit or specialty beret flash."Organizational Insignia", Department of the Army, TIOH, last accessed 10 June 2025"Big Picture: Your Army Reports: Number 10", US Army's The Big Picture (TV 713), hosted on PublicResourceOrg YouTube Channel, dated 1967, posted 31 December 2010, last accessed 28 August 2022 Leveraging geometrical divisions, shapes, and colors a heraldic artist will create a design that will represent the history and mission of the requesting organization. Once the organization agrees upon a design, the institute will authorize the creation of the new beret flash and will establish manufacturing instructions for the companies authorized to produce heraldic materials for the DoD."TIOH Organization", TIOH, last accessed 28 August 2022"Beret Flash and Background Trimming for the 346th Quartermaster Company"; TIOH; SAAA-IHS; dated 16 December 2019; last accessed 28 August 2022 The institute will also monitor the production of the new beret flash to ensure quality and accuracy of the design is maintained.

History of the beret flash in the DoD

US Army

1940s

Throughout its history, Army units have adopted different headgear and headgear devices—such as various colored cords, colored stripes, and insignias—to identify specific units, the unique mission of a unit, and/or the unique role of a soldier."Survey of U.S. Army Uniforms, Weapons and Accoutrements", US Army Center of Military History, by David Cole, dated November 2007, last accessed 7 August 2022 (can also be found in Commons at :File:Survey of U.S. Army Uniforms, Weapons and Accoutrements (2007), by David Cole.pdf)"All American Legacy Podcast Ep 25 – The French Hat", 82nd Airborne Division Official YouTube Channel, dated 26 June 2017, last accessed 24 March 2020"The colorful and controversial history of the Army's berets", ConnectingVets.Radio.com, by Jack Murphy, dated 23 October 2019, last accessed 18 January 2020 According to some historians, the first US use of a military beret device was a beret flash created by the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion of World War II."Rare WWII 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion Airborne Italian Made Patch Superb, Pricing and History", WorthPoint, last accessed 19 October 2021U.S. Army 509th Infantry Regiment "Geronimo" Patch (SSI), The Solute Uniforms, last accessed 9 March 2024 The 509th trained with the British 1st Airborne Division and was made honorary members of the British airborne forces in 1943."Earning it: A complete history of Army berets and who's allowed to wear them", ArmyTimes, by Meghann Myers, dated 19 November 2017, last accessed 19 October 2021 This honor authorized the 509th to wear the British paratrooper's maroon beret. Some 509th paratroopers had a small hand–embroidered version of their battalion's pocket–patch created for use as their beret flash on their honorary berets."509th Infantry Regiment, Distinctive Unit Insignia, Coat of Arms", TIOH, dated 28 May 1970, last accessed 4 July 2021 The design of the 509th's World War II pocket–patch and beret flash depicts a stylized figure of a paratrooper standing at an open aircraft door wearing a reserve parachute with an artistic rendering of the number "509" surrounding the paratrooper's head and the name Geronimo displayed at the base of the door all embroidered in gold on a black shield-shaped cloth with a semi–circular top.

1960s

The official start of the Army's beret flashes began in 1961 with Department of the Army Message 578636 authorizing the establishment of organizational beret flashes for wear on the special forces' rifle–green beret.RFK Speech- "Authorizations for Green Beret", John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum, soc.mil, last accessed 24 September 2022 Championed and heavily influenced by Lieutenant General William P. Yarborough (Ret.)—creator of the US Army parachutist badge and airborne background trimming—the message described the beret flash as shield–shaped with a semi–circular base made of felt tall and wide using solid colors to represent each of the special forces groups of the era."Research Center, Parachute Badge History", U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum, last updated 30 December 2015, last accessed 5 December 2022"Insignia of Airborne Units, U.S. Army, Second World War, Airborne Breast Oval Background Trimmings", hosted on angelfire.com, by Dr. Howard G. Lanham, dated 2001, last accessed 5 December 2022 The message also described who was authorized to wear the organizational beret flash stating that only special forces qualified paratroopers would be permitted to wear their special forces unit's organizational beret flash. These organizational beret flashes were to be worn centered over the left eye with either the 1st Special Forces Regiment DUI, polished metal officer rank insignia, or chaplain branch insignia positioned below their parachutist badge and centered on the beret flash. Later, the parachutist badge was removed and non–qualified soldiers assigned to a special forces unit wore a rectangular cloth beret flash, known as a recognition bar, long and wide color and pattern matched to their group's organizational beret flash."US Army Special Forces 1952–84", Bloomsbury Publishing, by Gordon L. Rottman, dated 20 September 2012, , last accessed 29 March 2019"Army Regulation 614–200, Enlisted Assignments and Utilization Management", Department of the Army, dated 25 January 2019, last accessed 30 May 2020 The recognition bar was worn below their 1st Special Force Regiment DUI, polished metal officer rank insignia, or chaplain branch insignia on the rifle–green beret.

1970s Various beret accoutrements began to appear in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly between 1973 and 1979 when the Department of the Army had its morale–enhancing order in effect and different colored berets began to be worn by numerous units and branches of the Army."History of the Army Beret, CSA SENDS – THE ARMY BLACK BERET", armyreal.com, last accessed 12 February 2020"The Beret in U.S. Military Uniform History", liveabout dotcom, by Rod Powers, updated 27 June 2019, last accessed 4 June 2025"A Short History of the Use of Berets in the U.S. Army", army.mil via WebArchive, dated 3 November 2000, last accessed 19 May 2024"US Army berets – blue, black, green, maroon, tan...", The US Militaria Forum, last accessed 13 January 2024

Historical photographs from the 1960s through the 1970s show soldiers assigned to reconnaissance, ranger, and armor units informally wearing black berets with various units affixing a wide variety of custom beret flashes that were worn over the left eye or left temple. In 1975, the Army formally authorized its ranger units to wear the black beret."History of the Black Beret", Army Study Guide, by SMA Jack L. Tilley, last accessed 3 October 2026 If earned, some of these ranger units had their rangers affix their Ranger Tab to the top edge of their organizational beret flash along with their regiment or unit DUI, polished metal officer rank insignia, or chaplain branch insignia affixed to its center and worn over the left eye."Rangers In Action - Part 1 of 3, Class RB1R04"; by US Army Fort Benning Training Support Crew; dated 26 September 1979, last accessed 16 February 2023