Also known as a unit crest or DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 451st Civil Affairs Battalion was approved for wear on 9 October 2001. Its purple and white tones are the colors traditionally used by Civil Affairs units and organizations. In the center of the shield portion is a white (silver) chevron, the longtime heraldic symbol used to indicate support and here employed to highlight the unit’s mission. The worldwide nature of that mission is denoted by the gridlined demi-globe at the bottom of the shield, while the upright sword is an indication of military preparedness.
A crossed scroll and quill pen are emblems pointing to the establishment of civil authority that will uphold justice, with the gold of the pen signifying excellence in this pursuit. A single star surmounted on the sword points to the Lone Star State of Texas, the unit’s location at the time the insignia was approved. “Promoters Of Victory,” the Battalion motto, emphasizes the fact that a civil authority meeting the needs of the people is an essential component of the success of a military operation.
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 451st Civil Affairs Battalion was originally constituted on 6 December 1965 as the 451st Military Government Group in the Army Reserve and activated at Portland, Oregon on 10 January 1956. Subsequently reorganized and redesignated as the 451st Civil Affairs and Military Government Group on 13 August 1956 and then redesignated as the 451st Civil Affairs Group on 10 December 1959. Nearly twenty years later, the unit was inactivated on 16 September 1979 at Portland, Oregon.
Redesignated as HQ and HQ Detachment, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion on the 13th anniversary of its inactivation (16 September 1992) and activated exactly one month later,
Redesignated 16 September 1992 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion would not be activated again until more than three years later on 16 October 2002. Since then, the Battalion has been called into active service on numerous occasions in the War on Terrorism, and the outstanding performance of both Battalion as a whole and its individual components has been consistently recognized with military decorations.
After one of its earliest deployments, a Detachment from Company B was tapped for a Valorous Unit Award for its service while assigned or attached to the HHC, 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment as it conducted security and counter-insurgency operations in Al-Haywejah, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom between February and November 2005. Two other Detachments, one from Company C and another from the Battalion that included Company A, were subsequently awarded Meritorious Unit Commendations (MUCs) following deployments. The Detachment from Company C earned an MUC for its service between July 2011 and May 2012 while assigned or attached to the 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, while the Detachment from the Battalion was also selected for an MUC for its “unparalleled dedication and devotion to duty while duty while providing vital civil affairs” in support of Combined Joint Task Force-101 in Afghanistan between December 2007 and October 2008.
Still an Army Reserve unit, the 451st Civil Affairs Battalion is assigned to the 321st Civil Affairs Brigade, 350th Civil Affairs Command when not called to service. The Battalion is headquartered at Pasadena, Texas.