Tactical recognition flash

Tactical recognition flash (TRF) is the British military term for a coloured patch worn on the right arm of combat clothing by members of the British Army,^[1] Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. A TRF serves to quickly identify the regiment or corps of the wearer, in the absence of a cap badge. It is similar to, but distinct from, the DZ Flashes worn by members of Airborne Forces.

Red and blue tactical recognition flash of the Royal Artillery.

TRFs should not be confused with formation signs or insignia, which are used to denote the formation (usually brigade or division or a higher headquarters) and are worn in addition to TRFs by a member of any regiment or corps serving in that formation.

Army

Royal Armoured Corps	Army Air Corps	Royal Regiment of Artillery	Royal Corps of Signals	Corps of Royal Engineers
See individual regiments
Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers	Royal Logistic Corps	Intelligence Corps	Royal Army Chaplains' Department	Infantry
				See individual regiments
Adjutant General's Corps	Royal Army Medical Service	Royal Army Veterinary Corps
See branches
Special Air Service	Royal Corps of Army Music	Royal Army Physical Training Corps	Small Arms School Corps
None	No data
Honourable Artillery Company
(Corps of Drums only, Special OP Sqns none)

Royal Armoured Corps

Regular Regiments
Household Cavalry Regiment	1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards	Royal Scots Dragoon Guards	Royal Dragoon Guards	Queen's Royal Hussars
Royal Lancers	King's Royal Hussars	Light Dragoons	Royal Tank Regiment
Yeomanry Regiments
Royal Yeomanry	Royal Wessex Yeomanry	Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry	Queen's Own Yeomanry

Army Air Corps

1st Regiment, Army Air Corps	2nd Regiment, Army Air Corps	3rd Regiment, Army Air Corps	4th Regiment, Army Air Corps	5th Regiment, Army Air Corps
No data	No data			No data
6th Regiment, Army Air Corps	7th Regiment, Army Air Corps	9th Regiment, Army Air Corps
No data

Infantry

Infantry Regiments
Foot Guards	Royal Regiment of Scotland	Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment	Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (2014-Present)	Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
				None See individual battalions
Royal Anglian Regiment	Royal Yorkshire Regiment	Mercian Regiment	Royal Welsh	Royal Irish Regiment
None See individual battalions
Parachute Regiment	Royal Gurkha Rifles	The Rifles	London Guards
See drop zone flash

Infantry Battalions and Sub-units
1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers	5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment	2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment	3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment

Adjutant General's Corps

Royal Military Police	Military Provost Staff	Military Provost Guard Service	Army Legal Services	Staff and Personnel Support	Educational and Training Services

Overseas Forces

Royal Gibraltar Regiment	Cayman Islands Regiment

Historic

Historic
Royal Scots	Royal Highland Fusiliers	King's Own Scottish Borderers	Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons)	Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers	King's Own Royal Border Regiment	King's Regiment	Queen's Lancashire Regiment	Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers
Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (2006-14)	Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire	Green Howards	Duke of Wellington's Regiment	Tyne-Tees Regiment
East and West Riding Regiment	1st Battalion, Mercian Regiment	2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment	3rd Battalion, Mercian Regiment	Cheshire Regiment
Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment	Staffordshire Regiment	West Midlands Regiment	Royal Welch Fusiliers	Royal Regiment of Wales
1st Battalion, Royal Welsh	2nd Battalion, Royal Welsh	3rd Battalion, Royal Welsh	Devonshire and Dorset Regiment	Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
The Light Infantry	Royal Green Jackets	Royal Rifle Volunteers7th Battalion, The Rifles	Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry	Royal Hong Kong Regiment
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps	Royal Army Dental Corps	Royal Army Medical Corps

Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force	Royal Air Force Police

Cadet Forces

Tactical Recognition Flashes are not to be worn by Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) or cadets of the Army Cadet Force and army section of the Combined Cadet Force irrespective of any affiliation to a Corps or Regiment.^[2] Cadets and CFAVs do wear county and contingent flashes of the Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force respectively.^[2] Officers of the Air Training Corps and the RAF Section of the Combined Cadet Force wear the RAF tactical recognition flash, Adult Warrant Officers and Senior Non-Commissioned Officers wear the RAFAC Staff formation flash, and cadets wear RAFAC Cadet formation flash.^[3]

The Air Training Corps' tactical recognition flash, worn by all air cadet staff and cadets, introduced in 2023.

See also

• Unit Colour Patch - Australian equivalent
• Shoulder sleeve insignia - American similar equivalent
• Drop zone flash