U.S. ARMY 286TH SUPPORT BATTALION UNIT CREST (DUI)

The 286th Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was first approved for the 286th Supply and Service Battalion on 24 November 1970. Since then, it has been redesignated twice—for the 286th Quartermaster Battalion in September 2001 and for the 286th Support Battalion in September 2008—and is currently worn by members of the 296th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, or CSSB. 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.

The Easter white pine is symbolic of the Battalion’s home state of Maine, and it is referenced here with a pair of green, stylized bunches of Eastern white pine needles gathered together at the base of the insignia and rising upward behind a double-warded key; the rectangular area in each side of the key is called a billet, which somehow refers to the technological processes involved in combat sustainment support. The key is emblematic of stewardship and the command/control aspects of the unit’s mission. A wavy blue scroll inscribed with the text of the unit motto, “Valor Veracity, Virtue,” simulates undulating water, alluding to the Kennebec River (near the unit’s home station) and the coastal waters of Maine.

The key denotes stewardship and reflects the command and control aspects of the organization's mission, while the billets refer to the technological processes involved in the unit capabilities. The scroll simulates undulating water and alludes to the unit's home site along the Kennebec River and also to the coastal waters of the State.

Originally constituted 1 September 2001 in the Maine Army National Guard as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 286th Quartermaster Battalion, the 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion was organized and Federally recognized under that original designation on 30 November 2001 at Bangor. On 1 September 2008, it was converted, reorganized, and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 286th Support Battalion.

The Battalion was ordered into active Federal service on 20 January 2009 at Bangor. It was released from service and returned back to state control a little over a year later on 27 February 2010. During its deployment, the Battalion provided sustainment operations for the Regional Command-South during the single largest buildup of cargo, forces, and equipment ever in the history of Operation Enduring Freedom, and its HHC was subsequently tapped for a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its outstanding service.

Most recently, the 286th CSSB deployed to Europe in April 2019 to spend several months training with strategic partners in Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, with exercises and training sessions slated to be held in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. As of Autumn 2023, the 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion remains an active unit of the Maine Army National Guard and is assigned to the 120th Regional Support Group.