The Distinctive Unit Insignia of the Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade was approved on 21 April 2006 and features imagery referencing the different types of units that made up this multifaceted organization. In the shield portion, a blue background represents the sky, recalling the nickname “Sky Soldiers” that Chinese Nationalist troops gave to Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in World War II. At the top of the shield is a star that alludes to Polaris, the North Star, commonly used a symbol for guidance in turbulent times. Bookending the star are lightning flashes, representing the speed and accuracy of modern electronic communications employed by the Battalion’s Signal Company.
In the center is a phoenix bird, rising from the flames, set on a benzene ring and with a key on one wing and a fasces on the other. The phoenix symbolizes the need for the Battalion’s Soldiers to continually transform themselves to meet emerging threats in the future, just as the phoenix is reborn from the ashes of its own destruction. The key is the symbol of Military Intelligence and the battle-axe that of the Military Police Corps, both with units in the Battalion. AUDENTIA ET FORTITUDO, Latin for “Courage And Strength,” served as the unit motto.
Also known as a unit crest or DUI, 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."
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Though activated for less than ten years, the Special Troops Battalion garnered three Meritorious Unit Commendations (MUCs) for service in the War on Terrorism between 2003 and 2010, and its Headquarters and Headquarters Company was the recipient of a Valorous Unit Award for service between 25 January and 30 July 2008. It was reflagged as the 54th Engineer Battalion on 17 June 2015; the new unit did not carry on the lineage of the 173rd STB, nor did it inherit any of its insignia.
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