U.S. ARMY 209TH FIELD ARTILLERY REGIMENT UNIT CREST (DUI)

The 209th Field Artillery Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called unit crest or DUI, was approved on 31 January 1941. A descendant of the 121st Cavalry Regiment, many of the personnel and units in the Regiment were allocated from the Rochester, New York and surrounding Great Lakes Region; the griffin rampant is an allusion to Le Griffon, the first large ship to sail in the Great Lakes and rivers above Niagara Falls as part of the explorations of French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle. In 1679, La Salle built a ship to haul men and equipment through the Great Lakes and chose a griffin for the figurehead on its prow. The mythical griffin is renowned for its vigilance as a guardian because it combines the keen vision and swift flight of an eagle with the strength and ferocity of a lion.

An artillery projectile behind the griffin is a reference to the unit’s Field Artillery mission, and the two different colors in the field are a reference to service as both a Cavalry and Field Artillery unit.

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. Current regulations do not permit the DUI to be worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.

Enlisted personnel wear the insignia 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.

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.