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 (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" and 21–3(d) and (e),
"Beret" and
"Garrison Cap," respectively.
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The 18th Personnel Group Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved for wear on 14 February 1990. Gold used throughout the insignia denotes a standard of excellence. In the center of the insignia, a nib-down white quill represents an individual Soldier and the service and support the Group provides to each on. The black square oriented in a diamond-shape recalls the shape of the beret flash worn by members of the XVIII Airborne Corps, which the Group supports, and is interlaced with a pair of arrows; they symbolize the two campaigns the unit’s predecessors took part in during World War II. Arrows are also weapons of flight and thus recall the XVIII Airborne.
The four sides of the square stand Loyalty, Duty, Selfless Service, and Integrity, all elements of the professional Army ethic. Simultaneously, they also represent the four individual values of Competence, Commitment, Candor, and Courage. Only three corners of the square are visible; these highlight the purposes for which the organization was created: Support Commanders, Service Soldiers, and Defend the Nation, concepts reinforced by the unit motto “Support Serve Defend.”
On 16 June 1998, the 18th Solder Support Group (Airborne) (Provisional) was formed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was organized with personnel from the 18th Personnel Finance (Airborne) and 18th Personnel Group (Airborne), both of which were simultaneously inactivated.
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18th Personnel Group Beret Flash and Oval