The 101st Airborne Division Artillery Airborne background trimming, or oval, was approved for wear on 9 August 1956, forty days after it was reorganized and redesignated as HQ and HQ and Service Battery, 101st Airborne Division Artillery. (It received its current designation as HQ and HQ Battery, 101st Airborne Division Artillery on 25 April 1957.) It is not clear when the organizational flash, also called a beret flash, was approved, though it’s highly likely that it was around this same time period.
Worn only by members of the unit who have qualified for a Parachutist and/or Air Assault badge, ovals are placed between the badge and the exterior of uniforms for which its wear is authorized with the main portion of the badge centered on the oval. The two devices are considered a single item when determining placement and measurement, with measuring done from the edge of the trimming (or top of the star and wreath for senior and master parachutist badges). The oval and badge may be moved to the wearer’s left and aligned with the left edge of ribbons or medals if a coat lapel obscures the badge.
Organizational flashes, on the other hand, are worn by personnel of 101st Airborne Division Artillery (DIVARTY) on the maroon beret that is reserved for members of Airborne-designated units, regardless of their individual Airborne or Airborne-related qualifications. Officers place their nonsubdued rank insignia on the center of the flash, which itself is worn centered on the beret stiffener, while Enlisted DIVARTY personnel wear the 101st Airborne DIVARTY Distinctive Unit Insignia, or unit crest.
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101st Airborne Division Artillery Unit Crest (DUI)