This flash, with a bend consisting of a white-black-purple bend and a jungle-green background, is worn by Special Forces personnel who are assigned to a non-SF unit. This is because jungle green is the primary SF branch color, and its use for the background of the flash denotes the wearer’s primary branch of service.
Special Forces were first organized in the Army in June 1952, with the 10th Special Forces Group being activated at Fort Bragg (renamed Fort Liberty in June 2023). Events in the 1970s and early 1980s highlighted the need for small, highly trained units in countering the increasing threat from enemies employing asymmetrical warfare, leading to the establishment of Special Forces as a basic branch of the Army on 9 April 1987; the selection of jungle green as the primary branch color came about six weeks later on 22 May 1987.