The 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), also referred to as a unit crest, was approved for wear on 4 March 1997. It features a shield divided diagonally by a red lighting flash that almost serves as a heraldic bend, with the Military Intelligence branch colors of oriental blue and silver gray featured in the lower left of the shield and on the border of both the shield and lightning flash, respectively.
Taken with the oriental blue, the darker shade in the upper right creates a day/night dichotomy to reflect round-the-clock vigilance and the unit’s covert (dark blue) and overt (oriental blue) missions. The red lightning flash encapsulates the speed of modern electronic warfare and its ability to dominate the modern battlespace. “Collect Exploit” sums up the overarching mission of Military Intelligence units.
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.
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The 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion was originally constituted as the 19th Military Intelligence Battalion in the Regular Army on 15 March 1969 and simultaneously activated in Germany. It was inactivated after a year of service on 20 March 1969 and remained inactive even after its redesignation as the HQ and HQ Company, 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion on 13 February 1996 and allotment to the Army Reserve; activation came on 16 September 1997.
Assigned to the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion for a deployment to Afghanistan in early 2013, a detachment from Company A, 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion was tapped for a Meritorious Unit Commendation on 23 January 2014, with its “exceptional execution of intelligence missions” between January and October 2013 cited as greatly contributing to the “increased readiness of both the Afghanistan National Army and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
323rd Military Intelligence Battalion is assigned to the 336th Military Intelligence Brigade of the United States Army Reserve's Military Intelligence Readiness Command. It is stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland and serves in support of U.S. Army Europe when called to active military service.