The Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 170th Military Police Battalion, approved on 24 February 1971, commemorates the service of the Battalion’s predecessor units in World War II. The insignia is shaped like a Gothic arch, symbolic of the areas in which the Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns were fought. Red and green used for the doorway recall the colors of the French Croix de Guerre with Palm that the unit was awarded for combat along the Moselle river, which is represented by the wavy band inside the black disc; the disc simulates a cannonball and, together with the colors scarlet and yellow, reference the unit’s World War II designation in the Artillery branch. Doorways also imply protections and a barrier to unauthorized entry, with the scale of justice serving as a reminder of the overall mission of Military Police organizations. “First In Peace And War” is the Battalion 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.
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," respectively.
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The 170th Military Police Battalion’s lineage extends back to the organization and Federal recognition on 5 March 1924 of two units in the 200th Infantry: the HQ Company, 1st Battalion and Company C. Within three months, the two were redesignated as elements of the 122nd Infantry.
The two units were converted and redesignated 1 July 1939 as the HQ Battery and Combat Train and Battery C, 1st Battalion, 179th Field Artillery. After induction into Federal service in February 1941, the two were reorganized and redesignated as HQ Battery and Battery C, 179th Field Artillery Battalion; both units were awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and took part in five World War II campaigns in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater.
Throughout both units would undergo more reorganizations and redesignations within the Artillery branch as part of the 179th Field Artillery Battalion, which in 1959 became the 179th Artillery, a regiment in the Combat Arms Regimental system. On 1 January 1968, the two units were consolidated, converted, and redesignated as HQ and HQ Detachment, 170th Military Police Battalion and relieved from their previous assignment to the 48th Armored Division.
As of Autumn 2023, the 170th Military Police Battalion is allotted to the Georgia Army National Guard where it is assigned to the 201st Regional Support Group and is based in Decatur, Georgia.