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 (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.
For Enlisted personnel, the insignia is centered on a shoulder loop by placing it an equal distance from the outside shoulder seam to the outside edge of the shoulder-loop button. Officers (except Generals) wearing grade insignia on the shoulder loops center the DUI by placing it an equal distance between the inside edge of the grade insignia and the outside edge of the button.
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.
The 38th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the 38th Reconnaissance Battalion on 24 August 1951. It would be redesignated for the 38th Cavalry Regiment, with description and symbolism updated, on 24 July 2008.
Green and yellow, the insignia’s predominant colors, are those associated with Armor (green and white were the Armor official branch colors from 1947 to 1951). Five fleurs-de-lis stand for battle honors, i.e., the World War II European Theater campaigns. A diagonal band symbolizes a path between enemy lines to symbolize the main functions of a Recon unit.
Some sources state that the 38th Cavalry Regiment’s origins date to 1916 and its activation as a Regiment, but they do not name a specific date nor the unit’s original designation. More certain is the activation of the 3rd Reconnaissance on 15 November 1943, populated with a cadre of 400 men drawn from the 113th Cavalry Regiment, the 1st Cavalry Division, and the Cavalry Replacement Training Center.
It was redesignated as the 38th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron and assigned to the 102nd Cavalry Regiment (Mechanized) on November 1943 (some sources say “102nd Cavalry Group” instead of Regiment). Arriving in France in June 1944, the Squadron was credited with action in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns and was the recipient of a Presidential Unit Citation (then called a Distinguished Unit Citation). It was also awarded a Belgian Fourragere 1940 for two citations in the Order of the Day for the Belgium Army, once for action in the Ardennes and then for fighting in Belgium.
Later in their service lives, the Regiment’s three Battalions would each go on to serve in a Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, with the last active Battalion, assigned to the 525th BSB before becoming a component in the newly formed 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade. It was last designated as being active in 2018, but we welcome any further information on the status of the Regiment and/or its Battalions, including date of inactivation if applicable.
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