The 502nd Personnel Services Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), also called a unit crest or a DUI, was approved on 6 February 1995. Its dark blue and scarlet tones are colors long associated with Personnel Services units. In the center of the shield portion of the insignia is a gauntleted hand grasping a wreath, denoting the Battalion’s mission and underscoring the unit motto OPTIMI SUSTINENT OPTIMOS (“The Best Supports The Best”). A pair of quill pens, one red and one gold, are crossed to indicate strength; red is the color of sacrifice and courage, gold is the color excellence.
Gu
idance 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.
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The 502nd Personnel Services Battalion was inactivated in 2008, but in the following years the Battalion and several of its Detachments were selected for military decorations for their superior service in the War on Terrorism between 2003 and 2006. A Detachment from the Battalion was chosen for a Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) in 2009 for service between February and November 2005 while attached to the 376th Personnel Service Battalion, and that same year Detachment 4 also was awarded an MUC for service between November 2005 and October 2006.
In December 2009, Detachment D, 502d Personnel Services Battalion was tapped for a Valorous Unit Award (VUA) for service between 25 April 2003 to 18 September 2003 while assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry; in June 2013 it was awarded a second VUA, also for service while assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry. And in August 2013, the Battalion's HQ and HQ Detachment and three Detachments (A, B, and E) were awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service in Iraq between December 2005 and December 2006.