The 741st Military Intelligence Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or DUI, was approved on 5 April 2006, but it was amended on 5 October 2006 so that it would be thereafter manufactured as a one-piece item, requiring a change in the description.
A silvery gray chevron on an oriental blue background on the shield portion of the insignia are the two colors traditionally used by Military Intelligence. Chevrons typically symbolize support in heraldry, but here it denotes the unit’s protection of the nation while simultaneously and constantly surveying our nation’s interests across the globe.
The shapes in the upper corners of the shield are called heraldic roses and suggest the secrecy and silence that is required when conducting Mission Intelligence activities, as well as the Battalion’s affiliation to the Military Intelligence Corps and the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade (roses are also associated with some “secret societies” that insist on total silence regarding their inner workings). Black and white are used for the roses as an allusion to the 24/7, day-night, round-the-clock nature of the Battalion’s observation mission. A flaming torch is an emblem of vigilance and symbolizes the Battalion’s ability to acquire knowledge on the our nation’s adversaries and alludes to the motto PRIMORIS SCIO, Latin for “First To Know.” A key symbolizes the unit’s mission to gain and protect access to secrets, while the lightning flash is a reference to its Signal Intelligence functions.
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.
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Assigned to the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade, the 741st Military Intelligence Battalion and is headquartered at Fort Meade. Its military decorations include a Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded to Detachments from its A and C Companies for their performance in Afghanistan between 7 August 2012 and16 February 2013 in support of Combined Joint Task Force-1, Regional Command-East and the International Security Assistance Force.
The 741st Military Intelligence Battalion is headquartered at Fort George G. Meade in Maryland.