It traced its history back to the 306th Cavalry Regiment, a reserve unit that existed during World War I and the interwar period.

The 306th Cavalry was constituted on 18 May 1917 in the National Army, shortly after the United States entered World War I, and organized on 6 February 1918 at Fort Clark, Texas.

The regiment's primary ROTC feeder school was the Virginia Military Institute, and its designated mobilization training station was the York Concentration Area in Pennsylvania.

[4] After the United States entered World War II, it was converted into the 543rd Signal Aircraft Warning Regiment on 30 January 1942.

[1] Later that year, after the beginning of the Korean War, the group conducted training with other Reserve and National Guard units at Fort Hood.

The distinctive unit insignia included a 1 1/8 in (2.86 cm) silver colored metal and enamel device, which consisted of a red and gray shield with a modified Lord Baltimore Cross bordered by yellow and blue squares.