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.
The 322nd Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest, was originally approved for the 322nd Infantry Regiment on 22 May 1925. The description of the insignia was amended to withdraw the phrase “Organized Reserves” from the wording on 20 July 1959, then the symbolism was amended on 28 July 1970. It was redesignated for the 322nd Regiment on 20 December 1993. A blue field symbolizes the unit’s longtime service as an Infantry organization. A wildcat recalls the 81st Division’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, while the fleur-de-lis in the upper right, coupled with the two stars on the bend, denote World War I service in France in two campaigns, respectively. EXCELSIOR, the unit motto is Latin for “Still Higher."
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The 322nd Regiment was originally constituted on 5 August 1917 in the National Army as the 322nd Infantry and assigned to the 81st Division. During World War I, it was assigned to the 161st Infantry Brigade, 81st Division and took part in two campaigns—Meuse-Argonne and Lorraine 1918—before the German surrender. The Regiment was demobilized from 22 June 2019 until its reconstitution on 24 June 1921 in the Organized Reserves as the 322nd Infantry. Assigned once again to the 81st Division (81st Infantry Division after July 1942), the Regiment would fight in the Western Pacific and Leyte campaigns, earning an Arrowhead device for taking part in an assault landing in the first and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its extraordinary service in the latter.
Inactivated for under a year following World War II, the unit remained a Reserve organization throughout the 1950 and was still one when it was reorganized under the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) as a parent regiment whose subordinate units were elements of other Divisions, originally the 81st Division. But in December 1965 its two Battalion were inactivated and relieved from assignment to the 81st Infantry Division; this was followed by a twenty-eight year gap where the Regiment had no subordinate Battalions.
In October 1993, the Regiment was withdrawn from CARS, redesignated as the 322nd Regiment and reorganized to consist of the 2nd and 3rd Battalion, elements of the 78th Division (Exercise). The Regiment was reorganized several times over the next few years with its Battalions remaining elements of the 78th Division up until April 2007, whjen the Regiment was relieved from assignment to the Division. During those years, the Regiment garnered several Army Superior Unit Awards for its excellence in training newly enlisted recruits and providing advanced training for Soldiers who had completed Basic Training and required advanced training in their specific Specialties.
As of March 2021, the Regiment has no active Battalions, but of course that situation can change at any time.