It was activated between 12 December 1942 and 1 May 1943 at Camp Hale, Colorado, and assigned to the 10th Mountain Division on 15 July 1943.

It was allotted to the regular Army on 25 June 1948, and activated on 1 July 1948 at Fort Riley, Kansas.

[1] World War II A Silver color metal and enamel device 1+1⁄8 inches (2.9 cm) in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Argent, a fess dancetté the points to chief fleury Azure.

Attached below and to the sides of the shield is a Blue scroll inscribed "COURAGE AND DEPENDABILITY" in Silver letters.

The ordinary, dancetté partition lines, and the fleury peaks are symbolic of the mountains in which the organization fought in Italy in World War II.