Commonly called a unit crest or DUI for short, the 82nd Airborne Division Artillery Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved while the unit was designated as the 82nd Division Artillery on 12 October 1942. It was redesignated to reflect the unit’s new designation as the 82nd Airborne Division Artillery, with new wording for the description and symbolism, on 14 January 1966. Scarlet and yellow are used to denote the unit’s affiliation in the Artillery branch; the Revolutionary War-era cannon symbolizes the unit’s functions, and the fleur-de-lis is a reference to battle honors earned during World War I in France. "Mass The Fire" is the unit motto and articulates one of the principles of the artillerist's craft.
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.
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Stationed at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division Artillery is the divisional artillery command for the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army. It was organized in 1917 and saw combat in both World Wars, several Armed Forces Expeditions, and the First Gulf War—all as part of the 82nd Airborne Division—before its inactivation in 2006. It was subsequently reactivated in 2014.
During World War, the unit fought in three major campaigns—St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne, and Lorraine 1918—while designated as HQ, 157th Field Artillery Brigade. It was demobilized in 1919 but then reconstituted in 1921 in the Organized Reserves and assigned once again to the 82nd Division. It was redesignated as the 82nd Division Artillery (DIVARTY) in February 1942, ordered into service the next month, and then reorganized and redesignated under its current title, HQ and HQ Battery, 82nd Airborne Division Artillery.
The unit distinguished itself with exception service in the six World War II campaigns in which it fought, two of which included taking part in assault landings (Normandy and Rhineland). In addition to its half-dozen campaign streamers, the unit was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation, a pair of French Croix de Guerre with Palm, a French Fourragere 1940, a Military Order of William and a Netherlands Orange Lanyard, and a Belgian Fourragere 1940 for two citations in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army.
Two decades would pass before the 82nd DIVARTY would see combat in the Armed Forces Expedition in the Dominican Republic (Operation Power Pack). It was also deployed in actions in Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), and for two campaigns in the First Gulf War. It deployed to Iraq once before its inactivation in 2006, and has not been deployed since its reactivation in 2014.