Both the Airborne background trimming (“oval”) and beret flash (more accurately called an “organizational flash” as it is authorized only for members of a specific unit) worn by personnel in the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment (3-73 CAV) were approved on 24 February 2006.
The flash is worn on the maroon beret authorized for wear by personnel serving in Airborne-designated units, with Officers centering their nonsubdued insignia of rank on the flash and all Enlisted personnel wearing the 73rd Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, or unit crest, in the same manner.
Ovals are authorized for wear by personnel Airborne units who have also qualified for a Parachutist and/or Air Assault badge, which is centered on the oval before the combination is placed on the AGSU or ASU coat, Class B ASU shirt, or Army Maternity Tunic (Female Soldiers only).
Information and wear guidance for both the flash and oval is found in subsections (a) and (b) of Chapter 21-32, “Distinctive items authorized for other than infantry personnel,” of the January 2021 edition of DA PAM 670-1. Instructions regarding the maximum number of allowable badges for each authorized uniform type, as well as instructions for the positioning of the oval-badge combination, can also be found in that edition of DA PAM 670-1, specifically
Chapter 22-16, subsection (b), “Wear of nonsubdued combat and special skill badges and special skill tab metal replicas.”
As part of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, 3-73 CAV has deployed to the Middle East on several occasions in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. After its first deployment to Iraq in 2007-2009, the Battalion was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation, the first of two MUCs it would garner in the fight against Global Terrorism; the second was awarded following a 2017-2018 tour in Afghanistan.
The Battalion was also tapped for a Valorous Unit Award, a unit decoration surpassed in precedence only by the Presidential Unit Citation and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, following a 2012 Afghanistan deployment in which it provided crucial assets to forces in the Ghazni Province.
Most recently, the Squadron returned from Iraq in February 2020 following the execution the previous month of a no-notice Deployment of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. At the time, the 1st BCT was serving as the Army’s Immediate Response Force Brigade, a designation assigned to one of the Division’s Brigades on a rotating basis.
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