The 18th Aviation Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 19 September 1966, just six years before the unit would be inactivated and only a little over a year after it had been first designated as an organization in the Aviation branch—it had been designated as a Quartermaster or Transportation unit from its creation in 1943 until 1965.
Raised wings encompassing an arched blue area represent the sky, indicating the Battalion’s readiness to provide fast air transportation, or “Swift Mobility.” Five arrows tipped with stars an allusion to the five campaigns the unit took part in during World War II as the 8th Quartermaster Battalion, Mobile.
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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.