The 198th Military Police Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia—also referred to as a unit crest or DUI—was originally approved on 21 May 1976. Its focal point is a fasces, a bundle of wooden rods with an axe blade protruding from one end that was used as a symbol of authority by Roman magistrates. In modern heraldry, it refers to the enforcement of law and order and adherence to high disciplinary standards—the basic mission of a Military Police unit. An arrowhead on the lower half of the faces, combined with the colors white, blue and red of the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, allude to the service the unit performed there while designated as an Artillery organization. Yellow (gold) and red are the colors of the national flag of South Vietnam and are found here in reference to service in that country. “Service, Integrity, Honor” is the motto of the Battalion.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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 (ASU, 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.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The 198th Military Police Battalion began its existence as Company M, 1st Infantry in the Kentucky National Guard when it was organized and Federally recognized on 20 January 1914. After the U.S. entry into the war, that unit was converted and redesignated Company G, 113th Ammunition Train on 5 October 1917. As an element of the 38th Division, the Company earned an uninscribed World War I campaign streamer because the 38th was broken up and ceased to function as a combat unit.
By the time it was inducted into service in the months leading up to World War II, it had been redesignated as HQ Battery, 2nd Battalion, 138th Field Artillery; it was reorganized and redesignated as HQ Battery, 198th Field Artillery Battalion and relieved from assignment to the 38th Division. It would be deployed to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater during World War II, fighting in two campaigns and earning an Arrowhead device for taking part in an assault landing during the Leyte campaign. It was also awarded a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
After a brief period of inactivation, the unit was reorganized and ordered into Federal service again in May 1951, but was not deployed to fight in Korea. In 1959, it was reorganized and redesignated as HQ Battery, 2nd Howitzer Battalion, 138th Artillery. In May 1968, it was reorganized and redesignated as HQ Battery , 2nd Battalion, 138th Artillery and would go on to fight in five campaigns in the Vietnam War under that designation.
It did not become a Military Police unit until 1 May 1974 when it was converted and redesignated as HQ and HQ Detachment, 198th Military Police Battalion. By the time it was ordered into Federal service for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, it had been redesignated yet again, this time as the 223rd Military Police Company. It earned battle honors for two of the three campaigns in the First Gulf War for service between 1 January and 25 May 1991. It would receive its current designation—again—when the former HQ and HQ Detachment, 198th Military Police Battalion was withdrawn from the 223rd Military Police Company on 1 May 1995 and reorganized as HQ and HQ Detachment, 198th MP Battalion. The Battalion as whole was called into service twice between 2001 and 2006, and since 2001 units of the Battalion have mobilized more then a dozen times in support of overseas operations including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia.
As of Autumn 2023, the 198th Military Police Battalion remains an active unit in the Kentucky Army National Guard. It is stationed in Louisville, Kentucky.