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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Originally constituted as the 3rd Ordnance Battalion (Maintenance) in 1942, the 3rd Ordnance Battalion EOD is currently a subordinate unit of the 71st Ordnance Group EOD and is headquartered at Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Washington. As of 2018, it comprises four Ordnance Companies (129th, 707th, 710th, 759th, and 787th) and a Ordnance Training Company (53rd) in addition to its Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment. The 71st Ordnance Group is under the organizational command of the 20th CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Explosives) Command.
The 3rd Ordnance Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, was approved originally for the 3rd Ordnance Battalion (Maintenance) on 26 August 1942 and was redesignated the 3rd Ordnance Battalion in 1955. The crimson and yellow colors are those of the Ordnance branch; the three torteaux, or roundels, evoke the image of cannon balls and also represent the Battalion’s numerical designation. A gear in the upper right recalls the unit’s history as a maintenance Battalion, while the palm tree symbolizes its origins in Southern California.