The 16th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), sometimes referred to as a “unit crest,” was originally approved on 21 February 1923, but has been redesignated on four occasions since then (1941, 1951, 1958, 1971). In its center, a dancetté fess (jagged line) represents the mountains and hills associated with the unit’s history, including King’s Mountain near Fort Liberty (née Bragg), Hill 304 near Verdun, Hill 295 in France, the Landskrone in Germany, and Mt. Rainier in Washington near Fort Lewis). MACTE NOVA VIRTUTE is the Latin motto that translates "Go Forth With Strength."
The black color is in memoriam of casualties, while the three stars represent three major World War I operations. The horse’s head denotes a mounted Regiment, and the ivy leaf is from the unit patch of the 4th Division, the Regiment's parent division in World War I.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been authorized to be issued the device. It is worn centered on the shoulder loops of the Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU) and the blue Army Service Uniform (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam.
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The 16th Field Artillery Regiment was originally constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 16th Field Artillery and was assigned to the 4th Division. During World War I, the Regiment took part in five campaigns as part of the 4th Division and was subsequently inactivated in September 1921 at Camp Lewis, Washington.
Assigned to the 9th Armored Division in June 1942 following reorganization and redesignation as the 16th Field Artillery Battalion, the unit saw action in four campaigns in the European Theater and was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations—one for its actions at the Remagen Bridgehead, another for the Battle of St. Vith—and earned a citation in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army (also for St. Vith). Following a 1957 reorganization and redesignation as the 16th Artillery, a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), the unit was deployed to Vietnam and participated in eleven official campaigns; its service was recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation (for Pleiku Province) and a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In 1971 it was reorganized and redesignated as the 16th Field Artillery, and in 1987 it was withdrawn from CARS and made a regiment in the U.S. Army Regimental System. Of the seven battalions that were raised under 16th Field Artillery Regiment colors, only the 3rd Battalion is still active; it is assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and is based at Fort Cavazos (formerly Fort Hood), Texas.