Amid War in Iran, Europe’s Flashes of Military Strength Also Show Its Weakness

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To defend allies from Iran, the continent’s powers have mounted a rare show of force. But those efforts have diverted limited resources from other hot spots.

President Emmanuel Macron of France singing the French national anthem in Cyprus on Monday with the crew of an aircraft carrier deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.

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In-Depth Context: United States military beret flash

In the United States (US) military, a beret flash is a shield-shaped embroidered cloth that is typically 2.25 in (5.72 cm) tall and 1.875 in (4.76 cm) wide with a semi–circular base that is attached to a stiffener backing of a military beret. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The 509th trained with the British 1st Airborne Division and was made honorary members of the British airborne forces in 1943. 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. 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. 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 2 in (51 mm) tall and 1.625 in (41 mm) wide using solid colors to represent each of the special forces groups of the era. 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, 1.875 in (4.76 cm) long and 0.5 in (1.27 cm) wide color and pattern matched to their group's organizational beret flash. 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 ha

Background information sourced from Wikipedia: United States military beret flash under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Original Source: Amid War in Iran, Europe’s Flashes of Military Strength Also Show Its Weakness