U.S. ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT ACTIVITY, FORT DRUM UNIT CREST (DUI)

Typically referred to as a “unit crest” or a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity, Fort Drum was approved on 4 November 1987. The branch colors of the Army Medical Corps, maroon and white (silver), are displayed in the cross in the center (note the silver of the staff of Aesculapius, mythological god of medicine) and the mountain peak.

The green of the serpent is the color hope, growth, and good health, while the cross is almost universally understood to be a symbol of medical care and treatment. A pair of pine trees recalls the location of the organization in upstate New York, an area so rich in pines that the site of Fort Drum was originally called Pine Camp.

There are three health-care facilities located at Fort Drum, with the most inclusive being Guthrie Ambulatory Health Care Clinic—it provides treatment for Soldiers, retired Veterans and civilian employees, and family members. The Medical Department Activity at Fort Drum comprises more than two dozen programs and services providing treatment for everything from hearing loss and behavioral health issues to chiropractic care, environmental health, nutrition problems, OB/GYN care, orthodontics, radiology, optometry, and much more.

However, there are no hospital facilities in the traditional sense on Fort Drum. The closest emergency rooms are found in Watertown at Samaritan Medical Center and in Carthage at Carthage Area Hospital.

The 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.