Created through the 1959 consolidation of an Alabama National Guard Engineer Combat Battalion (151st) and a U.S. Army Antiaircraft Automatic Weapons Battalion (the 279th), the 279th spent nearly fifty years as Headquarters, 279th Signal Battalion before being named an Army Field Support Brigade in 2008.
The unit’s Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, was approved on 13 August 2009. A shield with a buff border and a scarlet “X,” or saltire, display the colors associated with Support units, while the saltire recalls the design of the state flag of Alabama, where the 151st Engineer Combat Battalion was originally formed as Headquarters, 1 Battalion, 151st Engineers in 1940.
A globe with gridlines in the lower half of the shield is symbolic of the Brigades ability to deliver Support to any location where U.S. Warfighters may find themselves. An arrow-tipped quill reflects the Brigade’s role in developing, writing, and managing contracts related to materiel acquisition and delivery necessary for mission success; the arrow also hearkens back to one of the merged unit’s history as an Antiaircraft Battalion.
Related Items
279th Army Field Support Brigade Unit Crest (DUI)
279th Army Field Support Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)