Also called a unit crest or a DUI for short, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division is replete with imagery and icons representing the roles of the different units that make up the formation. A Key symbolizes Military Intelligence; a lightning flash denotes Signal operations; and a structure stands for the work of Engineers.
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.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e)
"Beret" and
"Garrison Cap," respectively.
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The creation of Special Troops Battalions was part of the Army’s transition to a modular, brigade-centric force, with the Battalion typically being formed from the Headquarters Company of the Brigade being transformed into a Brigade Combat Team. Such was the case with the Special Troops Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, with the Brigade’s Headquarters being designated as the BCT Headquarters on 16 January 2006.
But the lineage of the Battalion actually dates back to the activation of the 156th Infantry Brigade, which was organized in August 1917 and assigned to the 78th Division (later designated the 78th Infantry Division. After earning credit for three World War I campaigns as a brigade, it was converted and redesignated in the early days of World War II: Between February 1942 and August 1945, the Brigade was an element of the 78th Infantry Division and underwent no fewer than four changes in designation, all involving Reconnaissance (these included Recon Troop, Cavalry Recon Troop, Mechanized Cavalry Recon Troop, and Recon Troop, Mechanized). World War II campaigns credited to the unit include Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.
In 1964, the unit was designated the HHC, 3rd Brigade, Airborne Division, and during deployment to Vietnam its service was recognized with a Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and a Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class. In the 1980s, the Brigade took part in two Armed Forces Expeditions (Grenada and the Dominican Republican), and in 1990 and 1991 continued to live up to its motto “FIRMUS VIGILO VALIDUS” (“Reliable, Vigilant And Strong”) by taking part in all three Southwest Asia campaigns and earning a Meritorious Unit Citation. During the War on Terrorism, the Battalion earned two more MUCs, and as the HHC, 2nd Brigade 82nd Airborne also was honored with a Valorous Unit Award.
By 2010, the Army decided to begin replacing Special Troops Battalions with more robust Brigade Engineer Battalions. In 2014, the Battalion was inactivated and replaced with the newly flagged 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion.