More commonly referred to as a unit crest, the Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) of United States Army Contracting Command was approve on 23 June 2008, just a few months before the organization itself was formally established on 1 October 2008. Gold, the color of honor and high achievement, is used predominantly throughout the insignia, while black—the color of financial solvency that reflects the ability to meet future expenses—serves as the background.
The curved division on the shield is an allusion to a globe and thus a reference to the organization’s mission to provide contracting support to meet the warfighter’s need across the complete spectrum of military operations. An olive branch anda arrows, taken from the Great Seal of the United States, are images reflecting the Command’s peacetime and wartime contracting missions, respectively. The scroll and quill symbolize the writing of contracts, while the motto—ARMATI COMPARATOR CUSTOS—is Latin for “Soldier Emptor, Guardian.
Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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 (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."
A major subordinate command of U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) headed by a two-star General, Army Contracting Command (ACC) is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. It comprises a single one-star Command, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command (for locations inside the continental United States and Puerto Rico) and a half-dozen Contracting Centers that deliver support to AMC’s life-cycle management commands. The Command’s Soldiers are augmented with Department of the Army civilians, local foreign nationals, and contractors at over 100 locations around the world.