Often called a unit crest or DUI for short, the 98th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 11 June 2008. Scarlet and white sections on the shield stand for Cavalry, including Reconnaissance Squadron of Armored units, while the wavy bend represents Infantry (from the lineage of annexed units) and the Mississippi River, whose terminus is in the unit’s home state. A yellow lighting flash is a reference to 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team’s deployment to Iraq, and the green griffin head denotes affiliation with the 198th Armor Regiment (used to form the 98th’s 1st Squadron). MERIDIANUS ADAMANTINUS, the unit motto, means “Southern Steel.”
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. 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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The 98th Cavalry Regiment was organized on 1 May 1963 as a parent regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) in the Mississippi Army National Guard from existing elements and consisting of the 1st Squadron, an element of the 31st Infantry Division. It was reorganized to consist solely of Troop D in February 1968 before being inactivated in May 1971. It was reconstituted on 1 November 1973 in the Mississippi Army National Guard as the 98th Cavalry, again a parent regiment in CARS, consisting of Troop A, an element of the 155th Armored Brigade.
Withdrawn from CARS IN 1989, the 98th Cavalry was reorganized under the U.S. Army Regimental System, and was called into active Federal service on 17 August 2004; it served until 12 February 2006 when it reverted to state control. In September 2006, it was reorganized as the 98th Cavalry Regiment, consisting of the 1st Squadron, an element of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team.
Battle honors and military decorations of the 98th Cavalry Regiment are limited to an Iraqi Sovereignty campaign streamer from the War on Terrorism, but the 1st Squadron’s HQ Troop’s lineage includes two World War II campaigns (New Guinea, with Arrowhead, and Southern Philippines) and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
As of Summer 2023, the 1st Squadron, 98th Cavalry Regiment remains a component of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team.