The U.S. Army Legal Services Agency (USALSA) was established as a Field Operating Agency under the command of the Judge Advocate General on 15 March 1973. Several of the components of the organization were to be classified as the United States Army Judiciary, including the U.S. Army Court of Military Review, Office of the Chief Judge, Clerk of Court, Trial Judiciary and Examination and New Trials Division. The Agency was to provide administrative support for these elements, as well as for the appellate counsel divisions and the Contract Appeals Division.
In the decades that followed, the Agency has expanded in size and scope of mission. Today, the USALSA comprises nearly two dozen different offices, divisions, and activities worldwide with nearly 00 personnel drawn from from Active Duty and Mobilized Reserve components of the Army as well as civilians.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The U.S. Army Legal Services Agency Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, was approved on 8 May 1984. Its dark blue and white shades reflect its status as a unit under the command of The Judge Advocate General’s Corps, with the gold border and crosshatched globe lines denoting excellence. Those lines also symbolize the Agency’s legal work around the world, while the Roman sword reveals the organization’s military pedigree; the sword also reminds the viewer that Romans were lawmakers whose edicts helped ensure the
Pax Romana for centuries.
The scale is a standard image for judicial organizations, and the blindfold wrapped around both the sword and the scales defines the agency as an impartial arbiter of military law. LEGIBUS ARMISQUE DEVOTI, the Agency’s motto, is Latin for “Devoted To Law And Arms.”
The Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) is worn by all Soldiers (except General Officers) in units that have been
authorized to be issued the device.
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." Related Items
Legal Services Agency Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)
Legal Services Agency Patch (SSI)