The number of joint military joint operations carried out by the Armed Forces of the United States has increased dramatically over the last thirty years, due in no small part to the logistics and operational requirements of contingency operations being carried out all across the globe as part of the Global War on Terror. Joint Publication 3-0,
Joint Operations (2017), defines a joint operation as a “military action conducted by joint forces and those Service forces employed in specified command relationship with each other,” while “joint force” is “one composed of significant elements, assigned or attached, of two or more Military Departments operating under a single JFC [Joint Force Commander].”
The design of the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, for Army Personnel in DoD or Joint Activities combines the medium-blue color that is associated with Department of Defense heraldry with the Coat of Arms of the United States, which has been traditionally used to represent the United States Army.
The insignia was approved on May 28, 1993, at the same time that a Distinctive Unit Insignia, or unit crest, was approved. The unit crest features the motto, “Supporting Defense,” in gold letters on a medium blue scroll.
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Army Personnel in DoD and Joint Activities Unit Crest (DUI)
Army Personnel in DoD and Joint Activities Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)