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In the United States Army and United States Air Force (USAF), a beret flash is a shield shaped embroidered cloth or metallic insignia attached to a stiffener backing of a military beret. The flash that's attached to the stiffener is worn over the left eye of the wearer with the excess cloth of the beret folded and pulled over the right ear giving it a distinctive shape. The embroidered backgrounds of the Army beret flashes represent the approved distinctive heraldic colors of the unit to which they are assigned while the Air Force's represent their Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC). Army enlisted and non-commissioned officers attach their unit's distinctive unit insignia on the center of their unit's flash while warrant officers and commissioned officers attached their rank insignia to the center of the flash. Air Force commissioned officers assigned to AFSC 13LX (Air Liaison Officer) and 31PX (Security Forces) do the same while those assigned to other AFSCs that are authorized to wear metallic flashes attach a miniature version of their rank insignia below their flash on their AFSC specific beret.
The following beret flashes represent units or AFSCs that are currently active in the U.S. military: