Frequently referred to as a unit crest or a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 172nd Cavalry Regiment was originally approved on 14 April 1923 while the organization was designated as the 172nd Infantry Regiment. The insignia was amended to change the shield’s blazon in January 1924, and was redesignated for the 172nd Armor Regiment on 20 February 1970. It was redesignated for the organization’s current designation on 10 October 2006.
Set against a blue backdrop is a rendering in green of Mount Mansfield and its famed Camel’s Hump as seem Lake Champlain, recalling the “Green Mountain Boys” of Revolutionary War fame and the state’s nickname as the Green Mountain State. Above the mountain is a silver cross, which was the badge of the “Vermont Brigade” of the 2nd Division, 6th Corps, famed Civil War Brigade in which one in three Vermont Soldiers served. “Put The Vermonters Ahead” is the start of the order given by General John Sedgwick at the start of 6th Corps’ 32-mile march to Gettysburg on 2 July 1863 (he followed it with “and keep the column closed up”). The crest is that of the Vermont Army National Guard.
You can find guidance on wear of the DUI 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 172nd Cavalry Regiment originally constituted and organized from ten existing volunteer companies as an Infantry unit in the Vermont Militia on 19 April 1861 and was designated as the 1st Regiment, Vermont Volunteers on 27 May 1861. It underwent several reorganizations due to varying enlistment periods for the component units, but by the end of the war it was credited with action in eight Civil War campaigns, most memorably at Gettysburg (see above). Mustered into service for both the War with Spain and Mexican Border duty, the unit did not see combat on either of those occasions, but during World War I—reorganized and redesignated as the 57th Pioneer Infantry—it fought in a half-dozen campaigns in France.
It wasn’t until 1921 that the unit was redesignated with its current numerical designation as the 172nd Infantry. Assigned to the 43rd Division (43rd Infantry Division after February 1942), it was inducted into Federal service on 24 February 1941, with units in its lineage taking part in three campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater (earning Arrowhead devices for assault landings in two of them) and three in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater; they were also earned a Presidential Unit citation and Philippine Presidential Unit Citation that were credited to the Regiment.
The Regiment would not see combat again until the launch of the War on Terrorism, but it did undergo two major reorganizations, the first being consolidation with the 124th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion to form the 172nd Armor in 1959. After being redesignated as the 172nd Armor Regiment in 2005, the organization underwent its most recent major reorganization when it was transformed in September 2007 into the172nd Cavalry Regiment consisting of the 1st Squadron, an element of the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Although the Regiment’s campaign participation credits for the War on Terrorism are yet to be determined, 1st Squadron was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service in Anbar Province in 2006 and a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service during a 2010 deployment (10 March 2010 to 30 November 2010).