The 502nd Military Police Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was first approved on 24 October 1967 and was amended on 16 March 2012 to update the description and symbolism. Only two colors—green and yellow, official branch colors of the Military Police—are used in the 502nd Military Police DUI. Four scales are connected to form an elaborate pattern in the middle of the shield portion of the insignia, with the scales symbolizing equality and justice, the driving principles behind the organization. Further, the four scales symbolize equilibrium and stability, an allusion to the administrative relationship of various teams within the Military Police branch carrying out different functions. The pedestals of the four scales meet in the middle to form a cross that alludes to guidance and planning. HONOR PRO MILITIBUS is a Latin phrase meaning “Honor For Soldiers.”
Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a Distinctive Unit Insignia is 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.
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Originally constituted as the 302nd Military Police Battalion in the Organized Reserves on 29 July 1921, the 502nd Military Police Battalion received its current designation on 1 June 1940 after being withdrawn from the Organized Reserves and allotted to the Regular Army. On 5 September 1944, its HQ and HQ Detachment and Medical Detachment were disbanded in India and three of it s Companies (A, B, and C) were reorganized and redesignated, thus starting new lineages as the 698th, 699th, and 700th Military Police Companies.
HQ and HQ Detachment, 502nd Military Police Battalion were reconstituted on 23 December 1966 and activated at Fort Carson, Colorado, but was inactivated again after less than four years on 15 May 1970. It was reactivated on 16 March 2012 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Since its most recent inactivation, the unit has been deployed in support of the War on Terrorism one time. Between 9 January and 27 September 2014, the unit’s HQ and HQ Detachment (along with the 87th Military Police Detachment) carried out nearly 600 investigative actions while headquartered at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan; it was awarded a Meritorious Unit commendation just a few months after the deployment ended.
As of Autumn 2023, the 502nd Military Police Battalion remains stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and is assigned to the the 3rd Military Police Group, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command. Its criminal investigation services are employed through a 15-state area that stretches from the northern regions of Alabama and Mississippi up to areas in the state of New York that border Canada. It is capable of deploying individuals or detachments on order in support of contingency operations worldwide.