Following a 15-year inactivation, the unit now designated the 31st Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Brigade was reactivated in 1936 in the regular Army as 31st Coast Artillery Brigade. Six years later, it was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 31st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade and stationed at Camp Haan, California. After deployment to Europe, it took part in three campaigns—Rome-Arno, Southern France, and the Rhineland—for which it received official credit.
After World War II, the brigade underwent a series of activations, inactivations, and redesignations; in 1958, it was reorganized as the 31st Artillery Brigade and subsequently inactivated at McChord Air Force Base in 1960, which was the headquarters of the 7th Region of the U.S. Army Air Defense Command. Transferring to Lockport Air Force Station in New York in December, 1961, the unit was sent to Florida in 1962 to defend against a possible Russian missile attack during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Brigade has been stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and served as an ADA training unit since 2016, and as of Winter 2024 consists of three Battalions also based at Fort Sill.
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The blue backdrop of the 1st Air Defense Artillery Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia represents the sky, while the two white sections stand for the radar beams used to detects incoming enemies. An upright golden bow, armed with an arrow and featuring a drawn bowstring, is a symbol of a missile sitting upon a launch pad (This is made abundantly clear by the actual missile graphic seen on the unit’s Combat Service Identification Badge and its patch.) Three red stars above the arrow tip not only represent the explosions caused by hits on enemies, but also stand for the “3” in the brigade’s numerical designation. The “1” in the “31st” is symbolized by the arrow. Appropriately, the unit motto of “Ready And Vigilant” is emblazoned across the base of the crest, directly underneath the searching radar beams.
Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a Distinctive Unit Insignia is 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. Current regulations do not permit the DUI to be worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
More 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. Related Items
31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade Patch (SSI)
31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)