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.
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The U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence Distinctive Unit Insignia, more commonly referred to as a “unit crest” or DUI, was originally approved in June 1965 for the U.S. Army Medical Field Service School. It was redesignated for the Academy of Health Sciences, on 20 February 1973 following a reorganization of the Medical Field Service School later in 1972, with the description of the insignia amended in January 1993 to include metric measurements and to extend authorization of wear to personnel in the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School. On 2 June 2005, the insignia was again redesignated, this time for the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, with the symbolism corrected on 12 February 2013.
Since that time, the organization has been redesignated twice, first in February 2015 when it becamethe U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, Health Readiness Center of Excellence and in 2019 as the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence. While The Institute of Heraldry lists no other redesignations for the insignia to reflect these changes—it still lists the insignia as being authorized for the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School—it is the insignia displayed on the official Army Web site for the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence.
The insignia’s open book is an allusion to the study of and education in the techniques, improvements, practices, and policies of the former Army Medical Field Service School as denoted by the image of the field hospital tent and the wheel of a horse-drawn ambulance. In the center of the insignia is a Staff of Aesculapius crossed with an unsheathed sword whose point is down to indicate the noncombatant role of medical organizations in active combat; the staff is a reference to the sciences of military medicine and health. “To Conserve Fighting Strength” is the official motto of the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, while its slogan—“Army Medicine Starts Here!”—is a reference to the fact that every medical professional in the Army is trained at the Center.