Also known as a unit crest or a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 184th Infantry Regiment was approved on 3 June 1927 and features a chevron that divides a shield with a blue field into upper and lower areas. In the upper area are a battle axe and a giant cactus; the cactus represents the Regiment’s Mexican Border duty in 1916, while the battle axe alludes to the weapons carried by the “Sarsfield Grenadiers,” the nickname of Company G, 184th Infantry around 1870 (Company G was one of the units that carried out the Border duty). The lower portion has a fleur-de-lis that recalls the Regiment’s World War I service.
Unlike the vast majority of Army DUIs, the 184th Infantry Regiment unit crest does not feature the organization’s motto: “Let’s Go.”
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.
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The 184th Infantry Regiment’s roots go back to the Civil War and the organization of the Sacramento Light Artillery in the California Militia in 1864 (the militia became the California National Guard in 1866). In March 1880 it was redesignated as the 1st Artillery Regiment, and in December 1895 it was consolidated with the 8th Infantry Regiment to form the 2nd Infantry, a designation commemorated by the Regiment’s official Special Designation of “Second California.”
After being drafted into Federal service, most of the Regiment’s units were consolidated with the 5th Infantry Regiment and redesignated as the 159th Infantry. It was assigned to the 40th Division, which was designated as the 6th Depot Division to provide replacement troops for front-line units, earning the Division and its components an uninscribed World War I Victory streamer.
Demobilized after the war, the regiment was reborn as the 184th Infantry through the reorganization of former elements from central and northern Califonria in October 1924 and assigned to the 40th Division. It would be relieved from that assignment in August 1943 and assigned to the 7th Infantry Division and deployed to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. The Regiment fought in four campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, earning Arrowhead devices for its campaigns in the Eastern Mandates and Leyte for taking part in an Assault landing, as well as a Philippines Presidential Unit Citation. (Company B, 1st Battalion was individually awarded credit for participation in four campaigns in the European Theater).
The 184th would undergo no fewer than eight reorganizations between the end of World War II and the launch of the War on Terrorism and its first combat action in six decades. Ordered into Federal service in August 2004 and redesignated as the 184th Infantry Regiment in October 2005, the Regiment earned a Valorous Unit Award while serving with the 29th Infantry Brigade in 2005-2006. The next year, it was reassigned to the 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and in August 2008 was ordered into Federal service at home stations; in September, the 40th IBCT was redesignated as the 79th IBCT and the Regiment earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation serving with the unit from 2008-2009.
As of Autumn 2023, the 184th Infantry Regiment consists of a single Battalion, the 1st, still assigned to the 79th IBCT, the California Army National Guard’s largest and most powerful combat brigade. Based in Modesto, it comprises its HQ and HQ Company, four Infantry Companies, and an attached Support Company.