Introducing project “Military Insignia”, featuring top quality military heraldry designs. Here you will find designer apparel, accessories, custom postage and gifts decorated with insignia of the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), also known as “The Flying Eye Battalion”. The 1st Military Intelligence Battalion traces its history to the period of rapid expansion of U.S. Army Aviation. The battalion was first constituted on 14 December 1956 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Air Reconnaissance Support Battalion. The unit was activated on 1 February 1957 at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In January 2008, after the inactivation of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Explotation) was reassigned to the 66th Military Intelligence Group (later redesignated as the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade). The mission of the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) had previously been to conduct aerial signals intelligence operations in support of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade and V Corps, and rapidly deploy tailored intelligence packages to support stability and conventional operations. B Company, the aerial electronic warfare company, provided signals intelligence collection, analysis, processing and reporting using Guardrail systems. The Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company provided command and control of assigned and attached elements. It also provided consolidated logistics support for the battalion. The coat of arms was originally approved for the 1st Air Reconnaissance Support battalion on 12 December. It was redesignated for the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion on 20 April 1962. The coat of arms was amended to add a crest on 1 June 1973. Shield Teal blue and yellow were the colours used for Air Reconnaissance Support Battalions. The annulet, symbolic of a camera lens refers to the Aerial-Photo Interpretation mission in the unit's history. The wings allude to flight, the eye represents observation. The lightning flash alludes to the signal element in the unit's composition and the hand commemorates the unit's mission in support. Crest The Battalion's awards for Vietnam service for which they received the Presidential Unit Citation (Air Force) and five Meritorious Unit Commendations are represented in the crest. The Mak, or hook-bladed machete used to clear fields in Vietnam, signifies the Battalion's keen reconnaissance performance, and, together with the clouds alluding to Air Force, refers to the Presidential Unit Citation (Air Force); blue is the colour of the award streamer. The five arrows, with points down signifying penetration from the air, represent five Meritorious Commendations, with arrowheads and feathers in scarlet the colour of the award streamer. The yellow band with scarlet stripes, suggested by the national flag of the Republic of Vietnam, also alludes to the unit's achievements in collecting aerial reconnaissance information.