The 541st Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or a DUI, was originally approved when the organization was designated as the 541st Supply and Service Battalion, with the double bit of the upright key denoting those two functions; the key as a whole is a symbol of command and control. Behind a wavy blue bar that alludes to the Battalion’s participation (as a Quartermaster unit) in the Rhineland campaign in World War II is a shining sun—not only a source of energy, but also the basis for the measurement of time and thus a reference to accomplishments within the allotted time. Taken together, the key and sun symbolize the means of successfully completing difficult missions or tasks, with the sun signifying technical knowledge and the key emblematic of mechanic skills essential to Maintenance.
Originally approved for the 541st Supply and Service Battalion, this unit crest was redesignated for the 541st Maintenance Battalion in 30 August 1973. It was redesignated for the 541st Support Battalion in 2005 and is today worn by personnel of the 541st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which is tasked with the provision of logistical support to the 1st Infantry Division and its home station of Fort Riley, Kansas.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 Battalion was originally constituted as the 541st Quartermaster Service Battalion on 19 December 1942 in the Army of the United States. It was broken up and on 20 September 1943 and its elements reorganized and redesignated; its Headquarters (HQ) and HQ Detachment became HQ and HQ Detachment, 541st Quartermaster Battalion, which took part in the Rhineland campaign in Europe before it was inactivated in May 1946; its four companies A through D became numerically designated Quartermaster Companies with their own new lineages.
In September 1966, the HHD, 541st Quartermaster Battalion was converted and redesignated as HQ and HQ Company, 541st Supply and Service Battalion and allotted to the Regular Army and subsequently activated on 25 November 1966. It would become the 541st Maintenance Battalion on 21 June 1973 and take part in all three Southwest Asia campaigns in 1990-1991, earning a Meritorious Unit commendation for its superior service. Converted, reorganized and redesignated as the 541st Support Battalion in 2005 and dubbed "Pacesetters," the unit would again deploy to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006 – 2007, earning a second Meritorious Unit Commendation.