When it became eligible for a Distinctive Unit Insignia due to its designation as a separate Brigade on 16 February 2006, the 82nd Sustainment Brigade had been providing support for the 82nd Airborne Division for almost fifty years.
It was originally constituted as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Support Group, 82nd Airborne Division; following a minor redesignation the next year, the unit would serve as a Support Group until it was designated as a Division Support Command, or DISCOM, on 25 May 1964.
In this role, the DISCOM took part in three of the four Armed Forces expeditions involving the Army from 1965 to 1990 (Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama) as well as all three of the campaigns of the Southwest Asia conflict, commonly called the First Gulf War. The unit had not yet been redesignated as the 82nd Sustainment Brigade when it deployed for the first time in Iraq in 2003, earning the first of three campaign streamers in the War on Terror. During its second Iraq deployment, the Brigade’s performance was honored with a Meritorious Unit Commendation; its second MUC came after its first deployment to Afghanistan in 2010.
Today, the unit is designated as the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade and is headquartered at Fort Liberty (formerly known as Fort Bragg) in North Carolina.
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The focal point of the 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, is an opened parachute, highlighting the unit’s area of operations. A fleur-de-lis in the chute’s guide wires represents the parent organization’s service in France, and the motto “Supporting Freedom” serves as a bedrock for the insignia and a reminder of the Brigade’s primary mission.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.More 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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82nd Sustainment Brigade Patch (SSI)
82nd Sustainment Brigade Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)