The 116th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, commonly called a unit crest of DUI, was originally approved on 14 April 1925. It was redesignated for the 116th Field Artillery Battalion on 13 October 1942, and 7 July 1960 it was redesignated for the 116th Artillery Regiment. It was last redesignated on 31 July 1972 for the unit’s current title of 116th Field Artillery Regiment.
There are two components of the 116th Field Artillery Regiment unit crest: A red and blue shield and a scroll containing an inscription of unit motto VESTIGIA NULLA RETRORSUM, Latin for “Never A Step Backward.” Red is used on the shield to denote the unit as a part of the Artillery branch, while the blue recalls the unit’s heritage as an Infantry unit in the closing years of the 19th century. The image in the chief (upper third) of the shield is a modified version of the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 31st Division. A fleur-de-lis in the bottom third of the shield is for service in France during World War I.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1, Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e), "Beret" and "Garrison Cap," respectively.
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Given the Special Designation “Gator Red Legs,” the 116th Field Artillery Regiment was originally constituted under that title on 18 September 1917. Organized with National Guard personnel from several southern states (Florida, Alabama, and Georgia), the Regiment served with the 31st Division and was awarded an uninscribed World War I streamer.
The Regiment was inducted into Federal service on 25 November 1940, but was broken up and its elements reorganized and redesignated: its HQ was disbanded and its two battalions were given new numerical designations and made elements of the 31st Infantry. While the Regiment would be reconstituted through consolidations and reorganizations under the Combat Arms Regimental System in April 1959, the units in the 116th Field Artillery lineage ended up earning the Regiment credit for the New Guinea and Southern Philippines campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, along with an Arrowhead device for the New Guinea action and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for the Southern Philippines. (The Regiment’s HQ Battery was individually credited with participation in the Western Pacific campaign).
In 1993, the Regiment was reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental System to consist of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, and both units have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of the War on Terrorism. Today, the 2nd Battalion is an element of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Florida Army National Guard (ARNG) and headquartered at Lakeland, Florida, while the 3rd Battalion is assigned to the 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, also a Florida ARNG unit.