The 321st Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, was first approved for the 321st Infantry Regiment on 11 November 1924 and was redesignated for the 321st Regiment on 10 August 1960.
Its blue bend is a nod to the Infantry, its branch assignment when it was constituted and when it was deployed during both World Wars; the fleurs-de-lis on the bend commemorate the Meuse-Argonne and Lorraine 1918 campaigns. The pine cone is a reference to the Carolinas where the Long Leaf Pine is ubiquitous, while the red wildcat below the bend is adapted from the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia its parent organization, the 81st Division / Infantry Division, at the time the unit crest was approved. “En Avant,” the unit motto, is French for “Forward.”
The 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 (Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."
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The history of the 321st Regiment can be divided into two parts. From its constitution on 5 August 1917 as the 321st Infantry until 1 March 1952—excluding two very brief periods of inactivation—the Regiment was assigned to the 81st Division (which became the 81st Infantry Division in May 1942) and was a combat unit.
From 1952 until present, it and its Battalions have served as Training units, organized either as elements of the 108th Division or, following the Division’s redesignation as the 108th Training Command in 2008, assigned to Divisions subordinate to 108th Training Command.
According to the U.S. Army Reserve Web site*, two Battalions of the 321st Regiment are assigned to the 98th Training Division, 108th Training Command. One Battalion assigned to the Division’s 1st Brigade is assigned Basic Combat Training, while the other serves as a One Station Unit Training organization for Infantry Soldiers, responsible for both Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training.
A third Battalion from the Regiment is assigned to 3rd Brigade, 104th Training Division, also a subordinate unit of the 108th Training Command; it provides Training Support for the 3rd Brigade (Leadership Training).