Often called a unit crest or a DUI for short, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the 51st Maintenance Battalion was approved on 10 March 1967. A fleur-de-lis serves as the background for an old-fashioned grenade and a sword; it symbolizes the battle honors the organization was presented for five campaigns in Europe during World War II. The grenade is a reference to the 51st Ordnance Group, the organization’s predecessor that fought in that war, and the five (very subtle) “tongues” of flame allude to the five basic technical services provided by Maintenance units. A sword behind the flame is an allusion to military support, with the importance of such service reemphasized by the unit motto “Victory Though Support.”
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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. Full 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.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Originally formed as the Headquarters Detachment, 51st Ordnance Group on 20 December 1943, the 51st Maintenance Battalion’s history includes five World War II campaigns and a Meritorious Unit Commendation. In activated in January 1947, the unit was redesignated as the 308th Ordnance Group in March and reactivated at Richmond, Indiana. It would subsequently be inactivated in 1950, then reactivated in January 1953 and deployed to Esslingen, Germany and tasked with control of all Army Ordnance materiel and operations, a job it would hold until the spring of 1965. In August of 1965, the Group was redesignated as the 51st Maintenance Battalion (Direct Support).
The Battalion was realigned as a subordinate command of the 29th Area Support Group in July 1989, then relocated to Mannheim in June 1995. It was period in which the unit was quite busy with support for several contingency operations that came one after another, including Operations Joint Endeavor, Dynamic Guard, Retrograde Europe, Provide Promise, Provide Hope, etc.
The 51st Maintenance Battalion was inactivated in 2004 as part of the U.S. Army’s restructuring efforts.