Also known as a unit crest, a Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) 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.
More 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 Army created the Brigade Special Troops Battalion (BSTB) in 2004, but just seeing that a unit has been given the BTSB designation really tells you nothing about what its mission really is. That’s because the assignment for any BTSB will vary depending upon the unit to which it has been attached. Ultimately, they are Swiss Army knives that Brigade commanders use to ensure missions are completed. Writing in the July – September 2006 edition of Engineer magazine, then Lt. Colonel Thomas H. Magness summed up the job of a BSTB: BSTBs command and control attached and organic units—period. They execute the tasks assigned to them. They leverage the full "team of teams" to accomplish the mission according to the BCT commander’s intent. They receive the tasks assigned to them by the Brigade, translate the tasks into synchronized mission orders, and complete them in a way that adds value to the brigade.
This flexibility is reflected in the motto found on the Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), or unit crest, of the Special Troops Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team: “Give Me the Mission.” In its case, the mission was counter-insurgency operations during the Iraqi Sovereignty campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and it certainly achieved its Commander’s mission: the Battalion’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, along with three Companies in the Battalion, earned Meritorious Unit Commendations for their actions between June 2009 and April 2010.
This insignia has been obsolete since 1 September 2015, the date that Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was converted and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 177th Engineer Battalion, an element of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.