UNITED STATES ARMY

31st ARMORED BRIGADE (SEPARATE) Cold War Organization  •  1988

The 31st Armored Brigade was an Alabama Army National Guard formation. Like various other National Guard brigades, it perpetuated the lineage and used the shoulder sleeve insignia of a World War II division: the 31st Infantry Division, nicknamed the Dixie Division. The Dixie Brigade, as it was called, was organized as a separate armored brigade with two armor battalions, one mechanized infantry battalion, a self-propelled field artillery battalion, a separate armored cavalry reconnaissance troop and a separate combat engineer company. The 31st's units were organized under the Army of Excellence (AoE) scheme; the armor and mechanized infantry battalions having a headquarters company, three lettered armor or rifle companies and a combat support (CS) company. Organizational flags for separate brigades were vertically divided with the stripes in the prescribed branch colors—in this case yellow and green for Armor. Centered on the flag in proper colors was the brigade's shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI). Dimensions were 3 feet at the hoist by 4 feet on the fly with 2 1/2-inch yellow fringe. Organizational flags were made of heavyweight rayon banner cloth with the insignia applied to appear properly on both sides of the flag. Campaign and unit decoration streamers awarded to brigades were always displayed with these flags. The organizational flag was always carried or displayed with the National Color. Guidons for headquarters elements of separate brigades were of the same design as the corresponding organizational flags. Dimensions were 20 inches at the hoist by 27 inches on the fly with a 10-inch fork. Older guidons made of cotton or wool bunting were still used if serviceable, but new ones were made of heavyweight rayon banner cloth.