Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a 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.
The 118th Multifunctional Medical Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia features a maroon cross on a white shield, thus incorporating the two branch colors of the Army Medical Department. In the upper left is a fleur-de-lis, representing service in France during World War I; the cactus stands for service along the Mexican border prior to service in World War I. Absent from the unit crest is the unit motto of QUI VICTORES SUSTINET VICTORIAM—“He Who Supports The Victors Share Victory.”
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1, Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia" and 21–3(d) and (e), "Beret" and "Garrison Cap," respectively.
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A unit in the Connecticut Army National Guard, the 118th Multifunctional Medical Battalion was originally constituted as the 118th Medical Regiment on 20 October 1922. (The history of some of these units meant they brought their battle honors to the Regiment, including credit a half-dozen World War I campaigns). Assigned to the 32nd Division, it was allotted to the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont National Guard; it was Federally recognized the following year.
After induction in to Federal service prior to the U.S. entry into World War II, the Regiment was broken up and its Headquarters Company and several other Companies redesignated as a Battalion, elements of the 43rd Infantry Division. During World War II, the Battalion and units in its lineage would take earn our Asiatic-Pacific Theater campaign streamers, with an Arrowhead device for its Luzon campaign streamer for taking part in an assault landing and a Meritorious Unit Commendation inscribed PACIFIC THEATER.
The Battalion would be broken up two more times, in May 1963 and in September 2006. Prior to the second breakup, the unit was called into Federal service and deployed to Iraq, winning a Meritorious Unit Commendation for its year of service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It would mark the first of two MUCs the Battalion would garner while serving in Iraq, with the second being awarded in 2010.
Currently headquartered at Middletown, the unit is now designated as the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 118th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, Connecticut Army National Guard.