U.S. ARMY BLACK BERET WITH FLASH

The black beret was introduced in 2001 as standard headgear for all Army personnel, replacing the Army Service Cap and the Garrison Cap on a variety of uniforms including the Class A Army Green Uniform. Special Operations and Airborne personnel were allowed to retain their distinctively colored berets.

Officers and Warrant Officers center their nonsubdued insignia of grade on the beret flash, while Chaplains place their branch insignia on it. General Officers have the freedom to choose between full, medium, or miniature stars for wear on the beret flash; stars are horizontally centered in a point-to-point configuration, and stars may extend beyond the flash if necessary.

Enlisted Soldiers wear their Distinctive Unit Insignias, more commonly called unit crests, centered on the beret flash, with the exception of certain Command Sergeant Majors and the Sergeant Major of the Army. Soldiers whose units do not have an assigned unit crest will wear their Regimental Distinctive Insignia in its place.