The 85th Army Reserve Support Command Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, was originally approved for the 85th Division on 18 December 1918. It was cancelled and a new design (bearing no resemblance to the old one) was approved on 29 June 1970, but the original version was reinstated on 24 February 1986 for the 85th Division (Training).
It’s unclear if this insignia was approved for wear by Division members when the unit was redesignated as 8th Division (Exercise) in 1993, but it was approved for the 1999 redesignation into the 85th Division (Training Support) as well as the final transformation to 85th Army Reserve Support Command.
The “C” and “D” of the insignia stand for “Custer Division,” a nickname chosen because the original Division was formed at Camp Custer in Michigan and, according to The Institute of Heraldry, as “an incentive to emulate the qualities of courage and self-sacrifice exemplified by the life of General George A. Custer.”
During World War I, the 85th Division was awarded a World War I campaign streamer with no inscription because it was primarily used as a source of replacement troops (although one of its Infantry regiments took part in the Polar Bear Expedition against the Bolsheviks in 1918 – 1919). During World War II, the 85th Infantry Division took part in three campaigns in the European Theater, all in Italy: Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and the Po Valley campaign at the end of the war. Its primary mission has been training and training support since 1959.
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