The Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division was established on 6 April 2007 at the same time its Brigade Combat Team was formed from the Headquarters of the 1st Armored Division’s 3rd Brigade. Originally activated as Headquarters, Reserve Command, 1st Armored Division on 20 July 1944, the unit underwent several redesignations but remained a component of the 1st Armored Division at all times.
It carried the designation of Headquarters and Headquarters Company HHC, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division from 1962 until the HHC was split, with the Headquarters Company forming the basis for the Special Troops Battalion. Before becoming the Special Troops Battalion, the unit had earned credit for participation in three campaigns in World War II and all three campaigns in the Southwest Asia conflict of 1990 – 1991, as well as a Valorous Unit Award for service in Iraq and Kuwait.
Also known as the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team's Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armored Division, the unit was inactivated just over eight years after it was organized. On 10 June 2015, the Battalion was reflagged as the 2nd Engineer Battalion, later changed to the 2nd Brigade Engineer Battalion to emphasize its full spectrum of Engineer capabilities.
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Better known as a unit crest or a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division features four icons representing the capabilities of its component units. A key represents Military Intelligence; lightning flash stands for Signal functions; a fasces is the long-time symbol of Military Police; and a brick wall with embattlements is an emblem of Engineer units. “Forward Always” was the motto of the relatively short-lived formation. The insiginia was approved on 7 September 2007.
The 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 (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.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."