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. The 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally worn by the personnel of the 164th Aviation Group (AG), the unit for which the insignia was originally approved on 16 August 1968. Activated on 20 December 1967 in South Vietnam, the 164th AG comprised two battalions when it was organized, the 13th and 307th Combat Aviation Battalions; both were made up of Aviation companies that had seen action in Vietnam. In all, units of the 164th AG fought in eleven of the seventeen named campaigns of the Vietnam conflict and were awarded four Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm awards.
The unit's combat experience in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972 is a major theme in the design of the 164th AG unit crest. The triangular shape in the center symbolizes the Mekong Delta, site of the Group’s activation and home to its base of operations; the concentric triangles allude to the unit’s growth in its primary mission to provide combat support. Red and yellow are the colors of the Republic of Vietnam (i.e., South Vietnam) and the swooping hawk is a reference to the Group’s air combat power. Blue areas signify the theater of operations for Aviation units, and they also allude to an ultimate goal of peaceful skies. "Here Am I, Send Me," the unit motto, is taken from the Biblical account of Isaiah and his eagerness to answer God's call for a prophet.
More 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.
Inactivated 14 March 1973, the Group was redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 164th Aviation Group (it had previously been designated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company) and activated in Korea on 16 Octobe 1995. According to the military history Web site Global Security, the Group was inactivated and reflagged as the 4th Battalion (Airfield Operations), 58th Aviation Regiment in 2007. However, if this is accurate, the Group must have been reconstituted and reactivated because Army General Orders No. 2013–86, published 13 November 2013, award the Meritorious Unit Commendation to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 164th Aviation Group for service between April 2010 and April 2011.
Also somewhat confusing is the lineage between the 164th Aviation Group and the unit currently assigned the insignia, the 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group (TAOG). According to the unit history found on the 164th TAOG Web, the Group was created through the retirement of the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 4th Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment, which was reactivated as the 164th TAOG. However, this is said to have taken place on 16 October 1995—the same day that the 164th Aviation Group emerged from inactivation.
It’s unclear when the insignia was approved for the 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group,
which devotes a section of its Web site to explain the symbolism of this insignia. The 164th TAOG is based at Fort Novosel (formerly known as Fort Rucker) in Alabama.