The Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division was the only unit organic to the 4th Infantry Division Support Command, the Army’s first modular sustainment brigade. It was originally constituted as Headquarters, Special Troops, 4th Infantry Division on 30 July 1943, and for its actions in World War II it was awarded the Belgian fourragere with two citations in the Orders of the Day of the Belgian Army.
Before it next saw action, the unit would be converted and redesignated as 4th Replacement Company (organic to the 4th Infantry Division) in 1948 and then reorganized and redesignated as the 4th Administration Company in April 1957. From 1966 to 1971, the Company took part in ten campaigns and was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Republic of Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry with Palm, and an ROV Civil Action Honor Medal.
Following the Vietnam War, the unit spent thirteen years designated as the 4th Adjutant General Company (1972 to 1985) before it was inactivated for nearly two decades. It was redesignated as Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division and activated at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos) on 16 December 2004. It would retain this designation until it was inactivated in 2014 or 2015 (documentation on this event is unclear).
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The Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division Distinctive Unit Insignia (also called a DUI or unit crest), features an ivy leaf inspired by design of the division’s unit patch; it is underscored by a tripartite scroll with the inscribed with the unit motto “Fit For Any Test.” Lightning flashes reflecting the Battalion’s Signal functions were the inspiration for the Battalion’s informal moniker “Lightning.”
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.