The 701st Military Police Battalion was originally constituted in the Regular Army under that designation on 16 December 1940 and was activated 1 February 1941 at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Before it was redesignated as the 701st Military Police Service Battalion in February 1947, it was awarded two Meritorious Unit Commendations, one for the American Theater (GO 89, 13 June 1945) and another for the Pacific Theater (GO 41, 24 September 1946).
On 25 May 1949, the Battalion was reorganized and redesignated once again as the 701st Military Police Battalion and served at the Presidio of San Francisco until it was reassigned to Fort Knox, Kentucky on 11 June 1952, where it was inactivated a little over four years later on 25 August 1956. Its Headquarters were transferred to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command on 16 September 1986 and it was concurrently reorganized and reactivated at Fort McClellan, Alabama. It was subsequently inactivated due to the relocation of the Army’s Military Police School on 1 September 1999 and reactivated at its current home at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. As of Autumn 2023, it continues to provide command, control, and support to the staff, faculty and students of the United States Army Military Police School.
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The 701st Military Police Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia—also called a unit crest or a DUI—was originally approved on 10 December 1952 and was amended to update both the description and symbolism on 6 August 1986; the symbolism was corrected again on 2 December 2008. Green and yellow are the official branch colors of the Military Police Corps, A baton on a white bend is a heraldic symbol for authority in general and military control in particular, while the bend is an allusion to the white belt and other white accessories associated with the Military Police uniform. A golden sun in the upper right commemorates the unit’s service in China following World War II for which it was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation embroidered PACIFIC THEATER. “ASSIST BY EXAMPLE,” the unit motto, is a reference to the organization’s training role since being assigned to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command in 1986.
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," respective