The 418th Civil Affairs Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, or unit crest, was approved on 8 March 1993. Purple and white, official colors of the Civil Affairs branch, are used almost exclusively for the insignia, with the only exception being gold—the color of excellence and high ideals—used for the scimitar being wielded by the rampant lion. A lion rampant is a longtime heraldic symbol of strength and courage, and here it is used to denote the organization’s service in the First Gulf War by coupling it with a scimitar, a weapon used in U.S. Army heraldry to point to the Middle East. “Proud Ready” is the Battalion motto.
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.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
An Army Reserve unit, the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion is headquartered at Belton, Missouri and assigned to the 308th Civil Affairs Brigade, 353rd Civil Affairs Command when it is not called into active military service. During the Global War on Terrorism, the outstanding service of both the Battalion as a whole and some of its individual components have been recognized on several occasions.
In November 2007, the 418th Civil Affairs Battalion was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC) for its service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from late March to mid-December 2003. Some fifteen months later, the Battalion’s Company A was tapped for its own MUC for its excellent performance in conducting civil-military operations between January and November 2008 that supported four Brigade Combat Teams and four provincial reconstruction teams as part of Multi-National Division-North’s Operation Iron Resolve.
A Detachment from the Battalion that was assigned to HQ and HQ Company, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division was honored with a Valorous Unit Award issued in January 2008 for its support of the Brigade between from 5 April 2003 to 15 March 2004 in carrying over 1,000 raids and capturing 5,000 enemy insurgents.