Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 485th Chemical Battalion was originally constituted with that designation on 28 April 1959 in the Army Reserve and was activated 25 May 1959 at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Nearly forty years later, its location was changed to Wilmington, Delaware, the location at which it was ordered into active Federal service for the first time on 10 May 2007.
Following its release from active Federal service on 12 June 2008 and its return to Reserve status, the HHD, 485th Chemical Battalion was moved to its current location of Newark, Delaware. As of Summer 2023, the its HHD remains based in Newark, while the three Companies under its command are stationed in Pennsylvania (Bethelem), West Virginia (Morganton), and Virginia (Fort Barfoot). The HHD, 485th Chemical Battalion is a subordinate unit of the 415th Chemical Brigade, 76th Operational Response Command.
The Distinctive Unit Insignia (unit crest) of the HHD, 485th Chemical Battalion prominently features the Chemical Corps branch colors of cobalt blue and golden yellow. In its center, a black smoke ring recalls the smoke-generator mission of the Battalion, with black connoting concealment and the ring implying the mobility of the unit to provide this screening function.
The Battalion’s origins in Johnstown, Pennsylvania are indicated by area between the slopping sides that recall the Allegheny Mountain Valley; the wavy edges combined with the white droplets symbolize the floods associated with that region. A black, enclosing scroll is also a reference to Johnstown and its history as a hotbed of bituminous coal mining. The unit’s numerical designation is embodied within the insignia through the four droplets, eight waves on the sloped area, and the five smoke lobes.
“Rendering Excellence” is the Battalion motto. This insignia was approved for wear on 12 May 1971.