Like many Army Reserve Divisions originally established in the National Army in 1917 and called into active service during both World Wars, the 91st Training Division (Operations) has spent a good deal of its service life in the Training mission. But unlike a host of them that were transferred into the Support mission (usually around 1996) and redesignated as various types of Support Command organizations (Reserve Commands, Regional Support Commands, Regional Readiness Commands, and Readiness Divisions), the 91st Division has retained its post-war Training mandate up until this day and has maintained its lineage and history.
Also, a great many of the Divisions that were moved into the Support mission retained the insignia but not the lineage of their predecessor units. That isn't the case with the 91st Training Division. Since it was first formed over 100 years ago, the 91st Division and its lineage have been authorized three unique unit patches.
For the first 50 years (1918–1958), the 91st Division, 91st Infantry Division, and 91st Division (Training) wore a solid green insignia in the shape of a fir tree. In 1968, a second version was authorized for the 91st Division (Training) featuring the fir tree superimpose on a shield with an upper portion of the field in blue and the lower in red.
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91st Training Division Unit Crest (DUI)Finally, the current insignia—the one you see on this page—was approved for the 91st Division (Exercise) in 1993, and it has been redesignated for all the units that followed in the lineage—91st Division (Training Support), 91st Training Brigade (Operations), and finally the 91st Training Division (Operations). The distinct fir tree represents the "Wild West" heritage of the Division that was organized all those years ago in Washington state at Fort Lewis.