176th Maintenance Battalion
Some 3,600 men and women of the Tennessee National Guard, both Army and Air, were called to active duty during Operations Desert Shield and Storm. The 130th Rear Area Operations Center from Smyrna and the 176th Maintenance Battalion Headquarters from Johnson City were among the first Tennessee units called to active duty.
The distinctive unit insignia was approved on 3 January 1978, consisting of a Crimson enamel disc bearing at its center a gold wildcat's head "jessant-de-lis" (with fleur-de-lis passing through its mouth) surmounting in base two stylized black wrenches pilewise, all encircled by a continuous blue scroll divided with two folds, the upper portion inscribed "THE BEST SERVES THE REST" in gold letters and in base three white enamel stars. The color crimson is used for maintenance, the black and yellow for tank destroyers; they have been combined to indicate the present and former designations of the organizations. The wildcat's head represents the shoulder sleeve insignia of the tank destroyer forces; the fleur-de-lis symbolizes European service and represents the organization's five battle honors - Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe, and Ardennes-Alsace during World War II. The stylized wrenches allude to the unit's mission of maintenance, while the blue circular scroll and three white stars are suggested by the State flag of Tennessee.
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