The United States Army Special Operations Support Command (Airborne), or SOSCOM (A) for short, was stood up 1 November 1995 and tasked with the central management of Signal and Combat Service Support for Army Special Operations Units. A subordinate brigade under U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), SOSCOM (A) comprised the 528th Special Operations Support Battalion (Airborne), 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion (Airborne), USACO Materiel Management Center, and a Headquarters and Headquarters Company. It also included Special Operations Theater Support Elements (SOTSEs) embedded in each theater Army Command (U.S. Army Europe, U.S. Army Pacific, etc.), as well as five Signal detachments that were integrated into regional Special Operations Commands.
On 16 August 1996, the beret flash (also known as an organizational flash) and oval (technical name Airborne background trimming) were approved for wear on Army berets and coats and shirts, respectively. It was the second flash and oval set designed for the Command; the original insignias featured a scarlet stripe with gold border in the center position and green and maroon stripes above and below it.
Worn on the maroon beret authorized for wear by members of Airborne organizations, the SOSC(A) flash is centered on the stiffener of the beret, with Officers placing their non-subdued pin-on insignia of grade in the center of the flash and NCOs and Junior Enlisted wearing the Command’s Distinctive Unit Insignia in similar fashion. Note that personnel need only to be assigned to an Airborne-designated unit and do not necessarily have to have any Airborne qualifications themselves in order to wear the flash on the maroon beret.
Such is not the case with the oval, or Airborne background trimming: It is placed beneath Parachutists and Air Assault badges before they are positioned on AGSU or ASU coats (including the ASU Dress variation), Class B ASU shirts, and the green or blue Army Maternity Tunic (Female soldiers only).
Detailed wear guidance for both organizational flashes and backing ovals is found in
Chapter 21–32, “Distinctive items authorized for other than infantry personnel,” in the January 2021 edition of DA PAM 670-1.
On 16 December 2008, the 528th Sustainment Brigade (Special Operations) (Airborne) was activated, replacing SOSCOM (A) and making the flash and oval on this page obsolete for active-duty wear.