The regiment returned from World War II at the Boston port of entry on 11 July 1945 and then moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where it was inactivated on 20 October 1945.

The distinctive unit insignia of the regiment is an "Old Gray Bonnet" proper, and is one of the few DUIs in the U.S. Army designed to be manufactured and worn in pairs (left and right).

The insignia is a blue shield with a gray saltire cross and a prickly pear and fleur-de-lis, and a boar's Head with an oak branch in its mouth on top.

The blue background represents the Infantry while the gray cross symbolizes the unit's Confederate service.

The cactus represents duty on the Mexican border, and the fleur-de-lis service in France during World War I.

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 121st Regiment Infantry, Georgia National Guard on 27 June 1928.

The Battalion provides the 48th Brigade with mounted and dismounted maneuver assets to destroy enemy formations in close combat.

The earliest units associated with the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry were the Albany Guards and Barnesville Blues of the Georgia State Militia.

A. Thomas, the man responsible for the regimental title "The Old Gray Bonnets", died aboard ship.

Elements of the regiment were to participate in six separate campaigns during their brief service in the war, garnering several individual citations of valor.

In 1934, labor unrest struck the textile mills of Georgia and 2nd Battalion was again called up, this time for state duty.

In 1938, with war threatening Europe again, the massive Mississippi Maneuvers were conducted by the U.S. Army at Camp Shelby, MS. 2nd Battalion was one of the units involved.

[7] The Battalion then deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina for Stabilization Force (SFOR) Rotation 9 to provide support operations for Task Force Eagle (United States contingent to United Nations Operations in support of Dayton Peace Accord).

In May 2005 the unit began deploying to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and experienced some of the fiercest combat actions in the campaign.

The unit's focus shifted during the second half of the deployment to a theater security mission primarily consisting of convoy escort and civilian military operations.

The unit gave up its M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and became a dismounted force, with its anti-armor (Delta) company receiving up-armored HMMWVs.

[8] In December 2007, the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was alerted that it would be deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2009 for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

[10] In the Spring of 2009, the unit returned to Camp Shelby, MS, the site of its World War II preparations nearly 70 years prior.