The 503rd Military Police Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 22 December 1952 and was amended on 2 June 1989 to revise he description. Using a counterchanged (alternating) color scheme, the insignia’s focal point is a traditional scales of justice between a pair of guisarmes, pole weapons used by the Normans (among others) that are an allusion to the Battalion’s participation in the Normandy campaign and are indicative of the protective duties of the unit. “Protect Assist Enforce” is the unit motto.
Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a 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.
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Constituted in the Organized Reserves on 27 February 1922 as the 303rd Military Police Battalion, the 503rd Military Police Battalion received its current designation on 1 June 1940, going on to earn a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its service in five campaigns of the European Theater of World War II. Inactivated three months in the spring of 1946 and for fifteen months between November 1947 and February 1949, the Battalion was activated on 16 February 1949 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
In 1965, the Battalion was deployed in support of Operation Power Pack in the Dominican Republic and was awarded another Meritorious Unit Commendation for helping quell civil unrest in that nation. A reorganization in November 1970 inactivated its A, B, and C Companies, leaving the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 503rd Military Police Battalion.
Since that time, the HHD, 503rd Military Police Battalion has participated in two other Armed Forces Expeditions (Grenada and Panama), deployed to Southwest Asia during the First Gulf War (garnering its third Meritorious Unit Commendation during Operations Desert Shield/Storm), and has served several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, with its critically important performance in the early years of the War on Terrorism (2003 to 2005) recognized with two Meritorious Unit Commendations.
As of Summer 2023, the HHD, 503rd Military Police Battalion is still based at Fort Bragg, which was renamed Fort Liberty in June 2023. It provides law-enforcement support to the community while standing poised to deploy globally and deliver policing capabilities to commanders that address hybrid threat strategies, provide force protection, and promote the rule of law.