Frequently but inaccurately called a “unit crest,” the 171st Area Support Group Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) was approved on 19 March 1971, four years after the organization was originally constituted in the Army Reserve as HQ and HQ Company (HHC), 171st Direct Support Group. It features a pair of crossed “I” beams, one oriented vertically and other horizontally, to symbolize the Group’s mission of providing organizational structure and support.
A scarlet disc behind a green square/diamond containing a five-pointed star alludes to combat-service support, as well as mobility; the star on the green square represents the verdant, oak-shaded Capitol Square in Raleigh, North Carolina, home of the Group’s headquarters. “Readiness Is Support,” the unit motto, highlights the necessity for constant preparedness in fulfilling the Support mission.G
uidance 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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Activated on 15 January 1968 as the HHC, 171st Direct Support Group, the 171st Area Support Group was based in Garner, North Carolina from 1976 until it was inactivated in 2004. It was reorganized and redesignated as HHC, 171st Support Group on 26 March 1970 and would retain that designation until after the launch of the War on Terrorism.
It was first called into active Federal service during the Southwest Asia conflict, often called the Gulf War or First Gulf War, and it took part in all three of three campaigns on its way to earning a Meritorious Unit Commendation. The Group was also deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, but was subsequently inactivated after returning to its home location at the Army Reserve Center in Garner, North Carolina in March 2004.