The 339th Regiment Unit Crest, better known as a DUI or a unit crest, was originally approved for the 339th Infantry Regiment on 9 June 1924. It was redesignated on 5 August 1960 for the 339th Regiment with the Regimental motto
III TBIKB P B IIIAETB (Russian), which translates as “The Bayonet Decides” or “We Finish With The Bayonet” and is pronounced as if it were spelled "shtuk ryshayet" in English.
A polar bear on a blue background is copied from the unofficial Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the North Russia Expeditionary Force, an organization which included the 339th Regiment between 1918-1919, and is the inspiration for the official Regimental nickname “Polar Bear.” The canton (inset at upper left) displays part of the coat of arms from the city of Cadillac, founder of Detroit, reflecting the fact that the Regiment consisted of a large proportion of men from Detroit (it was locally referred to as “Detroit’s Own”), which was the area where it was allocated in 1924.
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. 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 339th Regiment was originally constituted on 5 August 1917 as the 339th Infantry in the National Army and assigned to the 85th Division. It would take part in two campaigns, Russia 1918 and Russia 1919, before returning to Camp Custer, Michigan (the 85th Division was informally nicknamed “Custer Division”) and being demobilized.
Reconstituted in June 1921 in the Organized Reserves, the Regiment was again assigned to the 85th Division (redesignated as the 85th Infantry Division after July 1942) and took part in three campaigns in Italy with the Division, earning a French Croix de Guerre wit Palm for the courage and heroism it displayed.
Reassigned from the 85th Infantry Division to the 84th Division in 1952, the Regiment would undergo far more reorganizations over the next seven decades than seen with other Regiments in the Organized Reserves (Army Reserve after 1952), but there was one constant during this period: the Regiment’s Battalions were always organized as elements of the 84th Division. This changed on 1 October 2004 when the Regiment was reorganized to consist of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions, elements of the 100th Division (Institutional Training).
Three years to the day later, it was reorganized so that each Battalion was an element of a different Division: the 1st remained with the 100th Division, the 2nd was made an element of the 70th Training Division, and the 3rd assigned to the 98th Division (Institutional Training) (98th Training Division after 1 September 2008). A 2009 reorganization changed the number of the Regiment's Battalions to 3 (the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th). Since that time, the Battalions have been given different training roles in the Army Reserve with the 86th and 95th Training Divisions, but their status as of Autumn 2023 is not clear.