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.
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The 503rd Aviation Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, was first approved on 16 January 1964. It was rescinded on 8 July 1976, but it was subsequently reinstated with an effective date of 21 May 1978 after being amended to update the symbolism. A shield of teal blue is the focal point of the 503rd Aviation Battalion and recalls the era when teal blue and white were the colors sued for Army Aviation units. In the center, a white star is an emblem of guidance as well as an image used as an identification marker on American Army Aviation assets.
The white star symbolizes guidance and is also used as an identification marking on aircraft. Rising to meet the star is a reversed pile (a point-up triangle), an allusion to performing airborne reconnaissance; the pile’s blue tip is a stylized rendering of an aircraft in flight. “Vision Support And Succor” is the Battalion motto.