The 71st Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or a DUI, was first approved for the 701st Armored Infantry Battalion on 28 April 1952 (see below). It was redesignated for the 71st Calvary Regiment on 10 August 2004. The raging lion (lion rampant, in heraldry) symbolizes the Regiment's aggressive and militaristic qualities—reinforced by the motto to move "Gallantly Forward"—while the gold fleur-de-lis indicates the battle honors awarded to the unit when it was a Tank Destroyer unit in World War II.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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 (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. 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.
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The 71st Cavalry was originally constituted on 3 December 1941 in the Army of the United States as the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion. During World War II, it would fight in seven campaigns before it was inactivated in October of 1945. Between 1947 and 1951 it would be converted and/or redesignated three times: as the 327th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron in the Organized Reserves in August 1947, as the 327th Heavy Tank Battalion (March 1949), and as the 701st Armored Infantry Battalion (November 1950).
It was under the last designation that it was withdrawn from the Organized Reserves and allotted to the Regular Army, assigned to the 1st Armored Division. The 701st Armored Infantry Battalion was inactivated in February 1957 and relieved from assignment to the 1st Armored Division. It would not be activated again until March 2004, when the 71st Cavalry was formed from new and existing units of the 1st Armored Division.
Both its 1st and 3rd Squadrons have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. For its service during three deployments between February 2006 and March 2011, the 3rd Squadron has been awarded three Meritorious Unit Commendations, while the 1st Squadron has been chosen for two Meritorious Unit Commendations and a Valorous Unit Award.
In September 2014, the 3rd Squadron was inactivated along the rest of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, but later the 1st and 3rd Squadrons were combined and reflagged as the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment (3-71 CAV) and assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. As of Summer 2023, the 3-71 CAV reamains a part of the 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Division and is stationed at Fort Drum, New York.