Purple and white, the colors traditionally associated with the Civil Affairs branch, are used for the scroll and shield portions of the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, which was approved on 16 August 1994.. Purple is also used for an inset “shield” with wavy border of gold (the color of excellence) on which a shining sun containing a scroll is surmounted, all above a suspension bridge of gold.
The wavy border of the inset shield is an allusion to the Pacific Ocean, the unit’s area of operation that is also referenced in the Battalion motto, “Pacific Peacemaker.” A suspension bridge recalls the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the area known as the “Gateway To The Pacific.” The scroll is an emblem of the Battalion’s protection of archives, art, and monuments and preserving cultural heritage.
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. 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.
For Enlisted personnel, the insignia is 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.
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Originally constituted as the 445th Military Government Company in the Organized Reserves on 25 September 1950, the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion would undergo several relocations and three redesignations before receiving its current name and designation on 16 September 1992. The Battalion was relocated to its current home base of Mountain View, California on 1 April 1995, and it was there a decade later that it was ordered into active military service for the first time a decade later on 18 April 2005. Over the next dozen years, the Battalion or some of its elements would be called to duty on at least three more occasions.
The entire Battalion was tapped for a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service while assigned or attached to the HQ and HQ Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division between October 2011 and September 2012. The Battalion’s Company B was selected for the MUC following two tours (September 2005 to September 2006, October 2008 to August 2009), and a Detachment from the Battalion had the distinction of being the first Battalion element to earn a military decoration when it was awarded an MUC in 2009 for its outstanding service in the first year Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003 – 2004).
As of Spring 2023, the 415th Civil Affairs Battalions remains allotted to the Army Reserve, where it is assigned to the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade, 351st Civil Affairs Command. Its current location is at the SGT James Witkowski Armed Forces Reserve Center in Mountain View, California.