Worn by personnel of the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (CSSB), the 495th Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia features a red chevron as a symbol of the organization’s Support role, while the mailed fist is an emblem of the striking power it possessed while serving as Armored Cavalry (referenced with the motto “Muscle Behind The Punch”). Also known as a unit crest or DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia is 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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."
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A unit in the Montana Army National Guard, the 495th CSSB was originally organized in that state’s National Guard on 7 February 1910 at Kalispell as Company F, 2nd Infantry Regiment. When it was drafted into Federal service on 5 August 1917, it was reorganized and redesignated as Company F, 163rd Infantry, an element of the 41st Division. The Company’s World War I streamer is uninscribed because the 41st Division was classified as a Depot Division and its component units broken up and used a replacement troops for units on the front lines of combat.
During World War II, the unit was deployed to the Pacific Theater where it took part in four campaigns, earning Arrowhead devices for two of them because they participated in assault landings (at New Guinea and Southern Philippines). In addition, the Company—still designated as Company F, 163rd Infantry—was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions at Papua, New Guinea, along with a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (embroidered 17 OCTOBER 1944 TO 4 JULY 1945). It was inactivated in December 1945 while located in Japan.
It would undergo no less than four reorganizations and redesignations between 1947 and 1959 when it became the HQ and HQ Battery, 2nd Howitzer Battalion, 190th Artillery. Eight years later, it would be consolidated with Battery B from the same Battalion to create HQ and HQ Troop, 2nd Squadron, 163rd Armored Cavalry, and it would also serve briefly as a Transportation unit (HQ and HQ Detachment, 495th Transportation Battalion) for a half-dozen years before receiving its current designation of HQ and HQ Company 495th Support Battalion.
Although the Battalion’s campaign participation in the War on Terrorism is yet to be determined, the unit just recently deployed elements to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, with more than five dozen Soldiers returning home in March 2019 following a nine-month tour of service The Battalion was also deployed to Afghanistan in 2012-2013.
The 495th CSSB is headquartered at Kalispell, Montana.