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 Distinctive Unit Insignia of the Special Troop Battalion, 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division was approved on 15 May 2008. Blue, the color of loyalty and fidelity, is employed for the background of the shield portion of the insignia, as well as for the scroll at base on which the reinforcing motto “Rely On Me” is inscribed.
A black arrowhead superimposed on a pile is a sign of military strength and fortitude, a reference to the unit’s formation in the American West; the precise location of the unit’s formation is Texas, represented by the star on the arrowhead. Crossing horizontally over the arrowhead is a fess bretessed (similar to embattled) that mimics the appearance of tank tracks, symbolizing the organization’s status as part of the 1st Armored Division. In the center of the fess is a crossed key and lightning bolt; denoting the Battalion's Signal functions and Military Intelligence capabilities.
The 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division was created in 2007 by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s Future Force Integration Directorate, with its various Battalions evaluating numerous types of equipment that were being considered for rollout to the entire Army as part of the Future Force Warrior System. Special Troops Battalion, 5th BCT, 1st Armored Division was inactivated when testing was brought to an end and the Brigade disbanded.