The 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the 538th Field Artillery Battalion. It was redesignated for the 52d Field Artillery Regiment in 1958 and then for the unit’s current designation on 1 September 1971. A red shield denotes unit’s affiliation with the Artillery branch, and the gold potenté bend has been adapted from the cottised bend found on the coat of arms of Champagne. The motto, SEMPER PARATUS, is Latin for “Always Ready.”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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
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.
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Although the Army lists 17 November 1775 as the “birthday” of the Air Defense Artillery Corps, the reality is that the Air Defense Artillery Corps was not established as a basic branch of the Army until 1968. The 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, for example, spent the first 50-plus years of existence designated as a Coast Artillery or Field Artillery Unit; its original designation was 7th Provisional Regiment, Coast Artillery. Before entering combat it was redesignated as the 52nd Artillery (Coast Artillery), and it was under this designation that it took part in five World War I campaigns.
From here on out, to follow all the redesignations, reorganizations, inactivations / activations and other organizational modifications to the Regiment and the units in its lineage (including annexed units) could cause eye strain. Suffice it to say that units in the Regiment’s line took part in six World War II campaigns, with Arrowhead devices for two of the Asiatic-Pacific campaigns (New Guinea and Southern Philippines).
In the Korean War, the Regiment's ancestral units fought in eight of that conflict’s ten campaigns, earning a Presidential Unit Citation for the Defense of Korea while serving with the 24th Infantry Division. The 1960s saw the Regiment deployed to Vietnam, where it won a Meritorious Unit Commendations for service between 1966-1969 and Valorous Unit Award for actions at Dak To-Ben Het while on its way to acquiring twelve campaign streamers. It matched that Valorous Unit Award with another presented for its actions during the First Gulf War, where it took part in all three campaigns. And in the War on Terrorism, the 5th Battalion has garnered two Meritorious Unit Commendations (this does not count MUCs awarded to individual batteries of battalions).
As of Autumn 2023, the Regiment’s two active Battalions, the 5th and the 6th, are stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas and in Korea, respectively.