Also called a unit crest, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of (DUI) the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion was approved on 22 December 1993. Purple and white, colors of the Civil Affairs branch, are used for the shield background and the scroll on the shield. The sword, scroll, and demi-globe are emblems of the unit’s military purpose and of its legitimacy.
The blue demi-globe denotes the unit’s capacity to respond to mission requirements across the globe, while the gold used for the sword and the inscription signify excellence and high ideals. SAPIENTIA NOSTRA ARMA, the Battalion motto, is Latin for “Wisdom Is Our Weaponry.”
Also known as a unit crest or DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia is 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 (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."
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The 411th Civil Affairs Battalion was originally constituted in the Organized Reserve Corps as the 415th Military Government Company on 18 February 1949 and was activated on 4 March 1949 at Saginaw, Michigan. It was reorganized and redesignated as the 415th Civil Affairs and Military Government Company on 3 August 1956, and two months later it was relocated to Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The unit was redesignated as the 415th Civil Affairs Company on 1 December 1959 and retained that title for more than thirty years, becoming the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion on 16 September 1992. Today, the Battalion remains headquartered at Kalamazoo, where it is assigned to the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, 353rd Civil Affairs Command when it is not called into active military service.
Civil Affairs units have played an almost outsized role in the Global War on Terrorism, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Battalion or some of its components have been deployed to the Middle East on several occasions.
The Battalion’s courageous service during a deployment during the first year (April 2003 to March 2004) of Operation Iraqi Freedom was later recognized with a Valorous Unit Award (VUA), while a Detachment from the Battalion was later tapped for another VUA for its service between 1 October 2004 and 1 November 2004.
On two other occasions, Detachments from the 415th Civil Affairs Battalion were chosen for a Meritorious Unit Commendation, the first coming in October 2004 to February 2005 to a Detachment attached to the 1st Infantry Division and the second for Company C while assigned to the 443rd Civil Affairs Battalion between February and November 2008.