The 172nd Support Battalion is an inactivated unit that was originally constituted as an organic element of the 172nd Infantry Brigade, which was also designated for brief periods as the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and as the 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Following the activation of the 6th Infantry Division in April 1987, the 172nd Support Battalion was reflagged as the 706th Maintenance Battalion at Fort Richardson, Alaska and assigned to it for nearly a dozen years.
It would be reactivated as the 172nd Support Battalion, an organic element of the 172nd Infantry Brigade, in July 1998 and would remain with the Brigade (as the 172nd Brigade Support Battalion) after it was redesignated as the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The 172nd was reflagged in 2006 and the Battalion inactivated, but it was reactivated to serve in the 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in 2008, one of the first Brigade Combat Teams activated in the Army. Both the 172nd IBCT and 172nd Support Battalion were inactivated in 2013.
During its time with the Brigade, the 172nd Support Battalion’s exceptional service was recognized with a Valorous Unit Award (August 2005 – December 2006) and two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the last for service between July 2011 and June 2012.
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Often referred to by the shorthand DUI or as unit crest, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 172nd Support Battalion was approved on 5 January 1966. The pair of hands enveloping the eight-pointed mullet (star) are an allusion to the Battalion’s mission of support, reinforced by the simple unit motto “Support.” Flames emerging from the mullet and between the hands are a reference to the Northern Lights, commemorating the unit’s service at Fort Richardson in Alaska. The mullet’s eight points also refer to the locale: seven are for stars of the Big Dipper and one is the North Star.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
More guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1, Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e), "Beret" and "Garrison Cap," respectively.