Also called a unit crest, the 240th Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) was originally approved for the 240th Coast Artillery (HD), Maine National guard on 8 February 1929. It was redesignated for the 703rd Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion on 2 February 1950, the first of several redesignations for the insignia before it would finally be given its current designation.
On 9 January 1956, it was redesignated for the 703rd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, Maine National Guard, and a little over five years later it was redesignated for the 240th Artillery, Maine National Guard on 16 May 1961. Almost a decade would elapse before it was redesignated again, this time on 2 March 1971 when it was redesignated for the 262nd Engineer Battalion, but on this occasion the insignia was also amended to change the symbolism.
It would retain this designation longer than any other it had been given up to this point in its service life, retaining it for twenty-six years before it was redesignated for the 240th Regiment, Maine Army National Guard on 5 March 1997. The insignia was amended to correct the symbolism on 26 September 2014.
The Artillery aspect of the 240th Regiment’s provenance is symbolized in the insignia by the scarlet color used for the portcullis, phoenix, and scroll. A portcullis is an emblem of the organization’s harbor-defense mission to protect the city of Portland, Maine while serving as the 240th Coast Artillery.
The Regiment’s service there is also recalled by the phoenix, which is taken not only from the crest of the city of Portland, but also from the crest of the Harbor Defenses of Portland which the Regiment was a part of during World War I. The mythical bird, that arises anew from the ashes of its own destruction, is also a symbol of the Regiment itself, which has been constantly rejuvenated following the major conflicts in which our nation has fought. Scarlet also stands for the Regiment’s mission as a Field Artillery organization during World War II.
A blue bend (diagonal bar), on the other hand, recalls the Regiment’s earlier history as an Infantry unit in the Civil War, with the stars denoting the ten battles that the unit fought in as part of the Union Army. The unit motto, SEMPER PRIMUS ET FIDELIS, Latin for “Always First And Faithful.”
Since 1997, the 240th Regiment has administered the Maine Army National Guard Regional Training Institute, or RTI, located in Bangor, Maine. In addition to providing training in specific Army Military Occupational Specialties for Junior Enlisted Soldiers and advanced professional training courses for NCOs and Officers, the RTI has also hosted the Maine Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition, most recently in April 2021.