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.
The Kentucky Army National Guard (ARNG) Element, Joint Force Headquarters Distinctive Unit Insignia was originally approved for the Headquarters (HQ) and HQ Detachment and non-color bearing units of the Kentucky ARNG on 14 May 1971. It was redesignated for personnel in the HQ, State Area Command of the Kentucky ARNG on 30 December 1983, and then given its current designation on 1 October 2003 as part of a nationwide reorganization of the National Guard.
“Fight As Kentuckians,” the unit motto, is a recasting of the state motto “United We Stand, Divided We Fall” and is embodied in the image of two hands clasped in cooperation. The state motto was inspired by the divisions in loyalty evinced during the Civil War and the need to overcome them for the good of the state and its citizens.
A blue field in the center of the shield is a reference to the state’s well-known nickname “The Bluegrass State,” while the fifteen stars placed in the field are a reference to the state being the fifteenth admitted to the Union; the staggered arrangement is the one used of the 1795 National Flag of the United States.
Related Items
Kentucky ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Patch (SSI)