Today comprising a single Battalion (2nd) assigned to the 115th Field Artillery Brigade, the 300th Field Artillery Regiment—officially nicknamed the “Powder River Regiment”—is a Wyoming Army National Guard organization whose origins stretch back to 1888 and its organization as the 1st Regiment, Wyoming National Guard. It also carries on the lineage and history of units with which it has merged or consolidated, such as the 300th Armored Field Artillery (AFA) Battalion. Also a part of the Wyoming Army National Guard, the 300th AFA was dubbed the “Cowboy Artillery” after it unleashed seven days of blistering artillery fire in the Battle of Soyang during the Korean War that blunted an attempted Chinese envelopment of the 2nd Division and enabled U.S. Eighth Army to fall back and regroup. This earned the 300th AFA Battalion a Presidential Unit Citation, the first of four it would be given for Korean War service.
With such a long history and with the addition of so many other battle-tested units and their campaign participation, it comes as no surprise that the Regiment’s battle honors are lengthy and impressive. These include four campaigns predating the 20th century (one from the War With Spain and another from the Philippine Insurrection), five campaigns from World War I, three from World War II (including an Arrowhead device for an assault landing during the Luzon campaign), and seven Korean War campaigns, complemented by a total of five military decorations for the Regiment and/or individual units. The 2nd Battalion was the recipient of a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service between April 2009 and April 2010, and a Detachment from the Battalion was also selected for the MUC for its actions between 14 September 2006 and 19 March 2007.
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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 (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. More 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 complexity of 300th Field Artillery Reserve’s lineage can be seen in the number of times its Distinctive Unit Insignia has been redesignated for wear by its ancestral units. First worn by the 115th Cavalry (June 1924), it has also been authorized for the 115th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (July 1944), the 300th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (February 1952), the 49th Artillery Regiment on (April 1961), 49th Field Artillery Regiment on (June 1972), and the 300th Field Artillery Regiment (October 1996).
Its red shield and five gold fleurs-de-lis are for service in France, while the blue chief (upper portion of shield) represents Infantry service in the Philippines. A golden sun commemorates service in the Far East and also recalls the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 41st Division. A yellow dividing line between the blue chief and red area is for Cavalry assignments in the past. “Powder River” has served as both the Battalion’s battle cry and motto from the unit’s earliest days and was the inspiration for the the Regiment’s official Special Designation.