Also known as a Distinctive Unit Insignia or a DUI, a unit crest 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. 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.
Orange and white used on the 54th Signal Battalion Unit Crest are the branch colors of the Signal Corps. In the middle of the insignia, a white wavy band represents the Rhine River and is a reference to the Battalion’s participation in the Central European campaign during World War II. The color blue, along with the patterned bands flanking the primary white wavy band, are taken from the coat of arms of Ardennes; the patterns also stand for telephone poles and thus are an allusion to one of the Battalion’s primary functions. “COMMAND CONTROL” explicitly states the inestimable role of Signal units in achieving operational success.
Full guidance on wear of the unit crest 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 54th Signal Battalion was originally formed as the 54th Signal Battalion on 18 October 1927, but was not activated until 10 February 1941. During World War II, the Battalion fought in two campaigns before it was inactivated on 29 December 1945 at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey. Nearly seventeen years elapsed before it was inactivated on 1 August 1962. It would go on to serve in thirteen campaigns during the Vietnam War and was awarded three Meritorious Unit Commendations and a Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
Inactivated from 1971 to 1980 and then from 1989 to 1991, the Battalion was able to take part in two of the three Gulf War campaigns. Its contributions in the War on Terrorism have also been substantial, with the Battalion garnering a total of four Meritorious Unit commendations for service in Southwest Asia between 2002 and 2011. As of Summer 2023, it is assigned to the 160th Signal Brigade and is stationed in Kuwait.