The 221st Military Intelligence Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, frequently called a unit crest or DUI, was approved on 13 April 1999. It features a shield-within-a-shield design, with the smaller shield displaying a gold sword superimposed on a black knight set against a field diagonally divided into scarlet and white. Scarlet is used to recall the state flag of Georgia, the Battalion’s home state, and combined with white and the blue found in the larger shield represents the colors of the United States.
A chess piece is an allusion to the Military Intelligence mission, which requires foresight and strategic planning; a knight is used because a horse invokes the connection between Army Intelligence and Cavalry, the first organization to provide military intelligence services to the commander. The gold sword indicates readiness and unit’s resolve to fight. The larger shield’s oriental blue and silver gray tones are the official branch colors of Military Intelligence, and the checkered pattern on it is another reference to chess and the chess-like strategies often employed in Military Intelligence. “Truth Through Exploitation” is the Battalion’s motto.
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. More 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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Headquarters Company, 221st Miliary Intelligence Battalion was organized at Fort Gillem September 1, 1997 and assigned the to 78th Troop Command. Between September 2001 and the end of 2006, the Battalion would deploy six times to Iraq; during its 2006 deployment, it was submitted more than 2,000 intelligence reports to Task Force Phantom to aid it in successfully identifying on insurgent smuggling routs in western Iraq.
From 2009 to 2015, the Battalion was assigned to the 560th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (BSB), but with the inactivation of the 560th BSB it was transferred back to the 78th Troop Command and subsequently redesignated as the 221st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion in September 2016. As of Autumn 2023, 221st Military Intelligence Battalion remains a part of the 78th Troop Command and is based in Forest Park, Georgia.