The 154th Regiment Regional Training Institute, located in Camp Shelby, falls under the control of the Mississippi Army National Guard despite the origins of the 154th Infantry Regiment in the Arkansas National Guard in the months after Congress declared war on Germany in 1917. The 154th Infantry Regiment was formed from the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (the Regiment was given the official special designation “Third Arkansas” to recall its immediate predecessor), with the 3rd Battalion being reorganized and redesignated as the 141st Machine Gun Battalion.
Along with the 153rd Infantry, the 154th was assigned to the 77th Infantry Brigade, part of the 39th Division. Because the 39th was named a “depot division” and its various components broken up and used as the source for reinforcements for front-line combat Divisions, the 154th’s World War I streamer is uninscribed because it did not take part as a whole unit in any particular engagement.
Following the war, the Regiment was demobilized and never reorganized in the Arkansas Army National Guard as an Infantry unit. But its lineage was assumed in the late 1990s by the Regional Training Institute in the Mississippi National Guard, officially known as the 154th Regiment Regional Training Institute (RTI). The 154th Regiment RTI provides training in Combat Arms, Leadership, General Studies, Military Occupational Specialties and Additional Skill Identifiers (Armor, Infantry, and Ordnance branches), and hosts an Officer Candidate School and an NCO Academy.
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The 154th Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally designed and approved for the 154th Infantry Regiment on 21 April 1943. It was rescinded on 5 November 1975, but was reinstated and redesignated for the 154th Regiment on 29 July 1999. It blue color commemorates its origins in the Infantry branch, while the roles of the Regiment are symbolized by crossed spears that, in heraldry, represent dexterity, nimble wit, and ability to pierce. “Firm To My Trust” is the Regimental motto.
Distinctive Unit Insignias 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. 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.