The 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (143rd CSSB) is a unit in the Connecticut Army National Guard assigned to the 143rd Regional Support Group. It was originally organized as the 143rd Support Battalion from next and existing units as the 143rd Support Battalion and assigned to the 26th Infantry Division. As the 143rd Forward Support Battalion, it was relieved from assignment to the 26th Infantry Division and assigned to the 43rd Infantry Brigade in September 1993. The Battalion was relieved from assignment to the 43rd Infantry Brigade in March 1997 and attached to the 143rd Area Support Group, which today is the Battalion’s parent organization 143rd Regional Support Group). It is unclear when the unit was redesignated as the 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.
In 1998, it was relieved from the 143rd ASG and assigned to the 85th Troop Command before it’s Company A deployed to Bosnia in support of Task Force Sword, the Logistics Task Force supporting Task Force Eagle. Subsequent deployments include a 2006-2007 tour in Iraq for which the unit was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation; a 2013 deployment to Kuwait to support Operation Enduring Freedom under the 38th Sustainment Brigade; and a 2017-2018 deployment to Europe where it supported Operation Atlantic Resolve by providing 180 units with potable drinking water, fuel, food, and materiel.
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The 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia—typically called a unit crest or referred to as a DUI for short—was originally approved for the 143rd Support Battalion on 11 May 1990. It is unclear when the insignia was redesignated for the 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. The three red chevronels symbolize strength and allude to the three types of support the 143rd Support Battalion provided—supply, maintenance, and medical—at the time the insignia was approved. A gauntleted hand raising a sword is an allusion to military preparedness and combat, a reference to the Battalion’s role as a Forward Support unit and is referenced in the unit motto, “Sustain The Sword.”
Full 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," respectively.