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.
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.
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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This Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved on 26 January 1981 for the U.S. Army Dental Activity, Fort Richardson, but due to unit redesignation it was assigned to U.S. Army Dental Activity, Alaska with a revised description on 24 May 1990. When the unit was discontinued, the insignia was cancelled with an effective cancellation date of 30 September 2016.
A maroon cross and white field surrounding it are used to incorporate the Army Medical Department Branch Colors in the U.S. Army Dental Activity, Alaska Distinctive Unit Insignia, better known as a unit crest or a DUI. Besides their colors serving to identify the unit’s parent organization, both images have another meaning: the cross serves as a traditional symbol of mercy and aid, while the white field around it is an allusion to the wintry climate of Alaska, the state in which the unit serves.
The variously colored arcs are a nod to the aurora borealis, a naturally occurring phenomenon in the Arctic that lights up the sky with moving swaths of color. According to The Institute of Heraldry, these colored arcs are somehow supposed to “connote” the “spirit” of the unit motto “Challenges Opportunities.”