The 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade has been based on the Hawaiian island of Oahu since 1959, a history that is reflected in the design of the Brigade’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (unit patch), approved on 5 March 2008. Purple and white are used in the insignia to denote the organization’s status as a Civil Affairs unit, while the gold trim signifies outstanding achievement and excellence. The light blue in the field of the insignia stands for the Pacific ocean, recalling the unit’s home in Hawaii for some six decades.
Similarly, a wooden dagger edged with shark’s teeth, a traditional Hawaiian war club, points to the Brigade’s home in Hawaii, as does the pair of crossed puloulou in the bottom half of the insignia; they are wooden staffs with cloth-wrapped balls attached on one end that were placed outside huts to indicate the territory belong to a king or chief. Taken together, the two Hawaiian implements symbolize the transition from conflict to peace and thus the Brigade’s mission. The unit’s mission is also broadly described in the unit motto NO KA PONO O KA LAHUI, Hawaiian for “For The Benefit Of Mankind.”
Related Items
322nd Civil Affairs Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)
322nd Civil Affairs Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)