Better known as a unit crest or a DUI, the Distinctive Unit Insignia of Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division uses heraldic icons and colors to symbolize the organization’s component units. A scarlet wall with embattlements represents the Battalion’s Engineer units; the green fasces (axe and bundle of sticks) is taken from the Regimental Distinctive Insignia of the Militar Police Corps; and the orange lightning flash is an image frequently found on the insignia of Signal Corps units. Undergirding the insignia and guiding the Battalion is its motto, “Steadfast, Loyal, Able.”
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 (ASU, 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.
Full guidance on wear of the DUI is found in DA Pamphlet 670-1,
Section 21-22, "Distinctive unit insignia."
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Known colloquially as “Strike Force,” the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armored had previously been assigned to the 4th BCT, 1st Cavalry Division; it was reflagged with 1st Armored in 2008. Its lineage dates back to 1 May 1971 and the activation of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Ford Hood, Texas. Before it was inactivated on 10 June 2015, the Battalion (and/or one or more of its component units) was awarded five Meritorious Unit Commendations, three for its support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and two for its service in Afghanistan. It was replaced by the 2nd Engineer Battalion.