“TRIUMPHUS PERSUASIONIS,” or “Triumph of Persuasion,” is the motto of the 8th Psychological Operations Battalion (Airborne), and forms the basis of its Distinctive Unit Insignia, often called a unit crest because it is worn on the beret flash. A black background symbolizes the darkness created by lack of knowledge possessed by the groups the Battalion is attempting to persuade; a white border around it denotes the light of information that can be used to transform minds and attitudes. Lightning flashes represent radio broadcasts that can illuminate the darkness, and a nib-down quill is an emblem for the power of the written word. The eight sides of the white border stand for the Battalion’s numerical designation.
The 8th Psychological Operations Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved on 7 January 1969; the description was amended the following month and again in 1993.
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 8th Psychological Operations Battalion was originally constituted on 7 November 1967 and activated a few weeks later in Vietnam on December 1. Based in Nha Trang, it replaced the 245th Psychological Operations Company as the primary military organization supporting PSYOPs within the II Corps area of responsibility (though a small detachment of 245th was used to form Company B in the 8th POB).
In 1968, Company B, 8th PsyOps Battalion was relocated to Pleiku, while Company A remained in Nha Trang. The Battalion worked closely with the 4th Infantry Division until it returned to the U.S. in 1971 and was inactivated, having earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation and credit for participation of ten of the seventeen named Army campaigns in Vietnam. Company B was split away from the Battalion in 1997 and assigned to U.S. Pacific Command as PACOM Battalion; it was later used as the basis for the formation of the 5th Psychological Operations Battalion that was reactivated in 2003.
The Battalion was reactivated 13 September 1972 at Fort Bragg (now known as Fort Liberty) and was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 8th Psychological Operations Battalion on 16 March 1990. It took part in two campaigns in the Southwest Asia conflict (AKA "First Gulf War") and was later awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation. On 16 November 1995, it became Headquarters and Headquarters Service Company, 8th Psychological Operations Battalion, but this time its organic elements were concurrently constituted and activated with personnel from provisional units. Since 2003, the Battalion has earned two Meritorious Unit Commendations for its support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, one for service in in 2002 - 2003 and the other for 2005 - 2006.
As of Autumn 2023, the 8th Psychological Operations is assigned to 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and is based at Fort Liberty (formerly known as Fort Bragg) in North Carolina.