The friendly invitation of the Latin motto COHORTIBUS AUXILIA, which translates as “Aid To Any Division” in English, stands in contrast with the ferocious attitude of the wolverine found on the 94th Engineer Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (also called a DUI or a unit crest). But the wolverine wasn't included on the unit's insignia because of the beast's outsized reputation for ferocity, but rather to reflect the Battalion's origins in the state of Michigan, the Wolverine State, where it was activated in 1941. The bendlet above the wolverine symbolizes a crossing or roadway and is an allusion to one of the Battalion’s functions.
The 94th Engineer Battalion unit crest was approved on 18 July 1941, but has been redesignated for the unit’s other designations numerous times: as the 94th Engineer Regiment (March 1943), the 94th Engineer General Service Battalion (November 1949), and for the 94th Engineer Battalion on 30 June 1955.
Full 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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The 94th Engineer Battalion was originally constituted as the 53rd Engineer Battalion on 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army. Although it would receive its current designation for the first time in January 1938, it would serve during World War II as the 94th Engineers (May 1942) and 94th Engineer General Service Regiment (August 1942 to May 1946). It fought in four campaigns in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater (Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Rhineland, Central Europe) before inactivation in December 1945.
It was given its current designation for good on 20 September 1953 before being briefly inactivated from November 1954 until March 1955 in Germany. Though it did not see combat service again until 2003 and the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it did earn two Army Superior Unit Awards in the 1990s (1995-1996, 1999). Since the launch of the War on Terrorism, it has been the recipient of a Presidential Unit Citation and three Meritorious Unit Commendations.
On 4 October 2014, an inactivation ceremony was held at Ford Leonard Wood’s Gammon Field for the 94th Engineer Battalion.