The 450th Civil Affairs Battalion was originally constituted as the 450th Military Government Company on 20 March 1951 in the Organized Reserve Corps—predecessor of today’s Army Reserve—and activated the following 13 April 1951. It was reorganized and redesignated in August 1956 as the 450th Civil Affairs and Military Government Company, followed by redesignation on 1 December 1959 as the 450th Civil Affairs Company.
It would retain this designation until 1992 and its reorganization and redesignation as HQ and HQ Detachment, 450th Civil Affairs Battalion. A decade later, it was ordered into active military service in the Global War on Terrorism for the first of five times; subsequent call-ups occurred in 2004, 2008, 2008, and 2012, with Detachments from the Battalion earning three Meritorious Unit Commendations during that time. Its most recent activity took place in January 2021 when it conducted Airborne Operations at Joint Base Mcquire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. The non-tactical operations were designed to maintain mission readiness and proficiency among the Battalion’s paratroopers.
The 450th Civil Affairs Battalion’s beret flash and Airborne background trimming, or oval, were both approved for wear on 25 March 1996. Guidance on the wear of the flash and oval is found in
Chapter 21-32(a) and (b) of the January 2021 edition of DA PAM 670-1.
Related Items
450th Civil Affairs Battalion Unit Crest (DUI)