Since it was established in 1794 as the 3rd Regiment of Artillery, the 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment has seen the activation and subsequent inactivation of four of its five battalions. Since 2010, the 4th Battalion has been the Regiment’s only active battalion, serving as subordinate until in the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade. The 4-3 ADA was last deployed in 2012 for a temporary duty assignment in the Middle East.
Although 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment was not given its current designation until it was withdrawn from the Combat Arms Regimental System in 1989, the organization’s “unit crest”—officially know as its Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI)—was approved six-and-a-half decades earlier on 8 January 1925. All the imagery found in the insignia is also in the unit’s coats of arms. The white sun, encircled on one side by a palm wreath and by a cactus plant on the other, is taken from the crest of the coat, as is the crown. Only the unit motto of “NON CEDO FERIO” is lacking on the coat of arms; it translates into English as “YIELD NOT, STRIKE."
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The 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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."