Headquartered at Fort Riley, the 97th Military Police Battalion was originally constituted under that designation on 8 June 1945 in the Army of the United States and activated 13 June 1945 in France. While its designation has not changed since its inception, the Battalion has experienced several inactivations over the decades, the first coming on 12 November 1945—a mere five months after it was originally activated.
It would subsequently be inactivated in March 1953 in Korea (after taking part in four Korean War campaigns and earning two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations), in April 1972 in Oakland (subsequent to serving in fourteen campaigns in the Vietnam War and earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm), and in 1994 in Germany (following a five-year mission enforcing military customs and managing the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe at Manheim).
Reactivated in 2005, the Battalion was deployed first to Iraq and then Afghanistan in support of the War on Terrorism; while its campaign participation credits are yet to be determined, it has been the recipient of two Meritorious Unit Commendations. As of Summer 2023, the 97th Military Police Battalion is stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, where it carries out law-and-order operations in support of the military community. It is also available for worldwide deployment to provide Military Police Operations that support Forces Command.
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The design of the 97th Military Police Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), often called a unit crest, features an upright, unsheathed sword placed through the intersection of two annulets, each containing a nib-down feather pen. The swords symbolizes the Army while also serving as the sword of justice. Two feathers stand for written military law and the regulations and orders that Military Police enforce, and the two interlocked annulets are an allusion to two theaters—Europe and Korea—where the Battalion had been active (the insignia was approved before the Vietnam War). According to The Institute of Heraldry, the annulets also represent the constant flower of stragglers, individual, traffic, and prisoners, all of which fall under the purview of Military Police.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.
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.