U.S. ARMY 3RD REGIMENT UNIT CREST (DUI)

The 3rd Infantry Regiment was originally formed following the Revolutionary War as the First American Regiment in 1784, it but it would not have its own Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, until 1959. While most people see a hat when they look at this insignia, its nickname—“cockade”—actually refers to the device attached to the hat, and is derived from the French word “cocarde.”

When the 3rd Infantry Regiment was stationed at Fort Snelling in Minnesota in the 1920s, keeping up esprit de corps was a bit difficult following the all-out effort of the Great War. In a move intended to stir patriotism, the Regiment’s commanders established a color guard, with two veterans serving as color bearers but dressed in uniforms of the Continental Army—complete with the “cocked” (or, more accurately “cockaded”) hat. These hats became the basis for the 3rd Infantry Regiment’s Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest (it is also found as the crest on the Regiment’s coat of arms).

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Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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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U.S. ARMY 3RD REGIMENT UNIT CREST (DUI)