OHIO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD ELEMENT, JOINT FORCE HQ UNIT CREST (DUI)

Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) 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 Institute of Heraldry’s description of the symbolism of the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the Ohio Army National Guard (ARNG) Element, Joint Force Headquarters (HQ states it is “based on the crest for the Army National Guard of the State of Ohio,” In point of fact, its design is identical to the unit crest of the 371st Sustainment Brigade, Ohio ARNG, save for the color scheme: the Brigade’s DUI features a red field instead of green.

In the center of both insignias is a buckeye, a reference to Ohio’s nickname as “The Buckeye State.” Behind the buckeye are the green leaves of the aesculus glabra or Buckeye tree, the state tree of Ohio, and rising from behind the leaves are seventeen arrows to reflect Ohio’s status as the seventeenth state admitted to the Union. The red and white twists of the wreath are an allusion to the English settler who established the first non-Native American settlement in the state.

This insignia was first approved for the Ohio National Guard’s  State Staff Corps and Departments on 16 May 1929. On 31 July 1970, it was redesignated for the HQ and HQ Detachment and non-color bearing units of the Ohio Army National Guard and then again for Headquarters, State Area Command, Ohio Army National Guard with an effective date of 31 March 1983. On 1 October 2003, the insignia was given its current designation.

Columbus, Ohio is home of the Joint Force Headquarters, Ohio National Guard.

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