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.
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Scarlet and buff, colors traditionally associated with Transportation and Support units, are used in the 44th Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia to reflect the Battalion’s roots in the Transportation Corps and subsequent conversion to a Support role (now commonly called Sustainment). “Driving for Peace,” the unit motto, highlights the unit’s role as a Troop Transport battalion and then as a Transportation Truck/Truck battalion and its importance in achieving victory and ultimately peace.
The 4th Transportation Battalion was constituted on 8 April 1943 as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment (HHD), 4th Quartermaster Troop Transport Battalion and was activated 3 May 1943. Redesignated as HHD, 4th Quartermaster Battalion, Mobile, on 27 August 1943, it took part in five campaigns in the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater.
From the end of World War II to the aftermath of the First Gulf War, the Battalion underwent a few redesignations as a Transportation unit (4th Transportation Truck Battalion, 4th Transportation Battalion) and was stationed in Germany from 1956 until it was relocated to Fort Lewis, Washington in November 1991. During the Gulf War, it participated in all three of that conflict’s campaigns, with its service recognized with a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
In October 1992, it was converted and redesignated as the 44th Corps Support Battalion. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Battalion deployed to Iraq for a tour lasting from November 2003 to October 2004 as part of the 593rd Corps Support Group. On 16 April 2008, the 593rd Corps Support Group was reorganized and redesignated as the 593rd Sustainment Brigade and consequently the 44th Corps Support Battalion was inactivated. Despite its inactive status, the Battalion's service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom would be recognized two years later with a Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded on 19 January 2010.