U.S. ARMY 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION UNIT CREST (DUI)

The 101st Airborne Division unit crest, officially known as a Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), features the motto “Rendezvous With Destiny,” a phrase coined by Division Commander Major General William Lee in a General Order he issued just a few days after the unit received its “Airborne” designation. “The 101st Airborne Division…has no history,” the order read, “but it has a rendezvous with destiny.” The order also noted that the bald eagle on the unit’s badge—actually inspired by a mascot of a Civil War regiment from Wisconsin—reflected the Division’s modus operandi in that it would “crush its enemies by falling upon them like a thunderbolt from the skies.”

One of the 101st Airborne Division’s finest achievements came during the First Gulf War. On 25 February 1991, more than five dozen Blackhawk helicopters from the 101st Airborne carry over 1,000 soldiers landed in the Euphrates Valley and seized Highway 8, a critical logistic chokepoint because it served as a supply line Basra and Iraqi infantry. In all, the Division suffered no combat casualties during the fighting in what came to be known as the “100-Hour War,” but it did suffer 16 casualties, including five fatalities when a Blackhawk crashed during an attempt to rescue a downed F-16 pilot.

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Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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 (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.

For Enlisted personnel, the insignia is centered on a shoulder loop by placing it an equal distance from the outside shoulder seam to the outside edge of the shoulder-loop button. Officers (except Generals) wearing grade insignia on the shoulder loops center the DUI by placing it an equal distance between the inside edge of the grade insignia and the outside edge of the button.

Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1, Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."

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101st Airborne Division Patch (SSI)
101st Airborne Division Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)
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