Commonly known as a unit crest or a DUI, the Dis-tinctive Unit Insignia of the 193rd Military Police Battalion, Colorado Army National Guard was approved on 17 November 2010. At the top of the insignia is an arched concertina wire with four barbs; these represent the Battalion’s four mission edicts elucidated in the unit motto: CARE and CUSTODY with DIGNITY and RESPECT.
A red background is a reference to the organization’s home state and the Spanish origin of its name (“Colorado” means “colored red” in Spanish). Three stylized, snow-capped peaks, emblematic of the Rocky Mountains, are adapted from the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 220th Military Police Company from the Battalion’s lineage and represent loyalty, paience, and respect. [Note: A previous 193rd Military Police Battalion, created through the 1968 redesignation and conversion of the 1st Howitzer Battalion, 157th Artillery, had a motto of “Loyalty, Patience, and Integrity.”]
Taken together, the mountains and red sky suggest the start of a new day of operations. Superimposed over the mountains and motto scroll is a vertically oriented key that stands for the security component of the Battalion’s overall mission, while the gold inset border (i.e., the concertina wire) symbolizes the protection the Army National Guard provides domestically and abroad.
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Today’s 193rd Military Police Battalion inherited its designation from an earlier MP unit (see Note above], but it was not given that unit’s lineage, heritage, or unit crest. Organized on 1 September 2007 in the Colorado Army National Guard as HQ and HQ Detachment, 193rd Military Police Battalion, today’s unit was created with personnel from the 891st Troop Command Detachment, a TDA unit that was Federally recognized back in May 2004.
Classified as an Internment/Resettlement MP unit, the 193rd consists of three components: Its Headquarters and Headquarters Company, the 220th Military Police Company, and the 947th Engineer Company. Its primary mission is to provide Command and Control, Personnel Services, Staff Planning, Medical, Logistical, Finance, and Ministry support necessary for the operation of a United States military internment facility for enemy combatant detainees. It is also tasked, if needed, with the operation of resettlement facilities for the protection and support of displaced and dislocated civilian refugees.
As of Autumn 2023, the 193rd Military Police Battalion is based out of Denver Armory in Denver, Colorado.