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. Enlisted personnel wear the insignia centered on a shoulder loop by placing it an equal distance from the outside shoulder seam to the outside edge of the shoulder-loop button. Officers (except Generals) wearing grade insignia on the shoulder loops center the DUI by placing it an equal distance between the inside edge of the grade insignia and the outside edge of the button.
The 96th Military Police Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 18 April 1966. It uses the branch colors of the Military Police Corps, green and yellow, and features a gold buckle above a green scroll containing the unit motto, “Unity Is Our Strength.” The buckle represents faithfulness in authority and also symbolizes security.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 HQ and HQ Detachment, 96th Military Police Battalion, was constituted 8 June 1945 and activated in France on 13 June 1945, but was inactivated 12 November 1945. In December 1950, it was allotted to the Regular Army and activated in Korea, where it would eventually take part in seven of the Korean War campaigns and be awarded two Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citations before inactivation on 20 March 1953.
A dozen years would elapse before it was reactivated on 20 December 1965 at Fort Benning, Georgia. (Note: Fort Benning was redesignated as Fort Moore in October 2023.) It was inactivated 21 June 1974 at Oakland, California. More than three decades later, it was reactivated in San Diego as HQ and HQ Company, 96th Military Police Battalion (I/R) and assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve. It was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation in 2008 for its service in Iraq between 2 November 2005 to 22 September 2006).
As of Autumn 2023, the 96th Military Police Battalion is assigned to the 11th Military Police Brigade. It is headquartered in San Diego, where it comprises two MP Detachments and two MP Companies.