The origins of the 308th Brigade Support Battalion go back to February 1943 and the constitution of the 308th Quartermaster Sterilization Battalion in the Army of the United States. In less than six months, the Battalion was broken up its elements reorganized and redesignate, with its Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD) becoming the HHD, 308th Quartermaster Fumigation and Bath Battalion. Its four alpha companies (A, B, C, D) were redesignated with numerical titles and began new lineages apart from the Battalion from which they were taken.
Not even three months had elapsed when the Battalion was reorganized and redesignated as HHD, 308th Quartermaster Battalion on 1 November 1943; this was the name under which the unit would serve in the European Theater and take part in five campaigns before inactivation in Austria on 25 November 1945. Almost sixteen years elapsed before the Battalion was redesignated as the 308th Quartermaster Battalion and allotted to the Regular Army with its organic elements concurrently constituted on 14 September 1961; activation came eleven days later on the 25th of September 1961. It became the 308th Supply and Service Battalion in August 1965 and was inactivated six years later on 26 July 1971.
The Battalion’s modern history begins with its redesignation to 308th Support Battalion in June 2005 while it was still inactivated. That ended with activation at Fort Lewis, Washington on 18 July 2007, where it was assigned to support the 17th Fires Brigade, now known as the 17th Field Artillery Brigade. It was deployed to Iraq in support of the Brigade in 2009, and in August 2010 its superior service between July 2009 and July 2010 was recognized with the award of a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its role in helping the Brigade conduct full-spectrum operations in Basra Province designed to ensure fair and free elections and manage over 100 civic action projects. Today, the 308th Brigade Support Battalion is still assigned to the 17th Field Artillery Brigade, I Corps and is headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.
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Often referred to as a unit crest or as DUI for short, the Distinctive Unit Insignia currently worn by members of the 308th Brigade Support Battalion was approved for the 308th Support Battalion on 22 March 2007. It had previously been approved for the 308th Quartermaster Battalion (approved August 1962) and the 308th Supply and Service Battalion (March 1966). Before the March 2007 approval for wear by the 308th Support Battalion, it was given an updated description and revised symbolism on 8 January 2007.
The 308th Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia pays homage to the unit's origins as a Fumigation and Bath Battalion during World War II with the inclusion on its shield of a bouget, an ancient heraldic charge that recalls an old method used by Soldiers to haul water to camp. Five points of the silver star in a canton (inset) in the upper left refer to the five campaigns (see above) the unit participated in during World War II. The color blue in the insignia is an allusion to the waters of both the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean and is used here to recall the location of the Battalion in Vancouver, Washington when it was originally activated. “Pride In Performance” is the unit motto.
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.