The 63rd Armor Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 4 December 1964. A wavy yellow band, taken from the arms of the Rheinprovinz, denotes service in that region and in Central Europe. A lion rampant from the arms of Belgium represents the citation for Mons Eupen-Malmedy in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army, while the fleur-de-lis indicates service in France. In the canton is the Distinct Unit Insignia for the 745th Tank Battalion from which the aforementioned battle honors were inherited: the Battalion's numerical designation is found in the septfoil (7), the square (4), and the star (5).
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. Full 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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“Seek Strike Destroy,” unit motto of the 63rd Armor Regiment, does not appear on its Distinctive Unit Insignia, but the enemies it has encountered in its nearly eight decades of service understand just how seriously its personnel take it. Originally constituted on 3 May 1942 as the 745th Tank Battalion, the unit was quickly redesignated as the 745th Tank Battalion, Medium (1 September 1942), then restored to its original designation in December 1943. It was under this title that the unit fought in five campaigns in the European Theater during World War II, earning an Arrowhead device for its Normandy campaign streamer for taking part in the D-Day landings. It was also the recipient of a French Croix de Guerre (embroidered NORMANDY) and a Belgian Fourragere 1940 for being cited twice in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army (Mons and Eupen-Malmedy).
Inactivated in October 1945, it was subsequently redesignated as the 63rd Heavy Tank Battalion (14 September 1948), allotted to the Regular Army, and assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. The next month it was activated in Germany (10 October 1945), then reorganized and redesignated as the 63rd Tank Battalion (10 October 1950). Inactivated in February 1957 and relieved from its assignment to the 1st Infantry Division, the unit was again reorganized and redesignated as the 63rd Armor, a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System, on 25 January 1963. It was withdrawn from CARS nearly twenty-five years later and reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental System on 16 September 1987.
Its exceptional performance in non-wartime service since that reorganization has been recognized with three Army Superior Unit Awards (1988, 1990, and 1996-1997). Its 1st and 2nd Battalions have been deployed several times during the War on Terrorism, with the 1st Battalion garnering four Meritorious Unit Commendations for its service between March 2003 and July 2016; the 2nd Battalion received a Valorous Unit Award for combat action between March and December 2004.
As of Summer 2023, the Regiment’s only active Battalion is its 1st, nicknamed “Dragons” and designated as the 1st Combined Arms Battalion. It is assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division and headquartered at Fort Riley, Kansas.