The Field Support Center Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI)
, or unit crest, was originally approved on 12 March 1990. Its status as a Military Intelligence organization is signified by the oriental blue used in the crest and base of the insignia as the background for the unit motto, “Service Through Teamwork.”
Images taken from chess, particularly chess knights, are commonly used in Military Intelligence heraldry. Here, the black and white knights, facing in opposite directions, allude to the need for night-and-day, round-the-clock military preparedness while simultaneously pointing to the dual nature of intelligence operations. The knights themselves, of course, imply strategy and, taken together, reinforce the unit motto.
The gold background signifies excellence and high achievement, while the red of the stairsteps is for valor and zeal. Five stairsteps are used in order to portray the muti-faceted abilities of the Center. Above the two knights, the polestar suggests that the services provided by the Field Support Center are available worldwide, while the columns on the left and right are symbols of strong support.
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 Army Field Support Center (AFCS) was established on 1 July 1965 under the designation U.S. Army Administrative Survey Detachment (ASD) at Fort Holabird, Maryland to manage intelligence-based career programs for Civilians. It was quite small when launched, with only 14 uniformed Service members and about 300 Civilian employees.
When Fort Holabird closed in 1973, the ASD was relocated Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, and over the years the ASD’s mission expanded to cover programs for Soldiers as well as Civilians, including the Army GREAT SKILL Program,
With the closing of Fort Holabird in 1973, ASD moved to Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Their mission continued to expand over the years to include programs for Soldiers as well as Civilians including the Army Attaché Management Division (AAMD), the GREAT SKILL Program (GSP), and the Military Civilian Excepted Career Program (MICECP). AFSC's headquarters remains at Fort Meade and continues to support these programs today.
The programs of the AFSC have made it an integral component of the Military Intelligence Community, where it serves as the prime mover in putting the right people in the right place and at the right time in support of INSCOM, the Army, and the Joint Force.