The 8th Aviation Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia, also called a unit crest or DUI for short, was approved on 5 August 1963 along with the unit motto, “To The Sound Of The Guns.” On a shield with a black field is a winged caltrop, a device made of sharp nails or spines placed on the ground to impale the feet of soldiers and horses or camels and more recently pneumatic tires. The caltrop’s four points represent the combat arms branches of Infantry, Armor, and Artillery supported by Aviation, denoted by the wings. A cross pattée is for the Battalion’s activation in Germany; its eight points reflect the numerical designation of the unit as well as its assignment to the 8th Infantry Division.
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" and 21–3(d) and (e),
"Beret" and
"Garrison Cap," respectively.
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Inactivated in 1992, the 8th Aviation Battalion was first constituted on 1 August 1957 as the 8th Aviation Company, assigned to the 8th Infantry and activated in Germany. It achieved Battalion status on 1 April 1963 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company 8th Aviation Battalion on 1 April 1963. The Battalion was inactivated in 1967 and subsequently redesignated and activated as Aviation, 8th Infantry Division on 21 February 1973.
It reverted to Battalion status on 21 September 1978 when the Company was reorganized and redesignated as HQ and HQ Company, 8th Aviation Battalion (Combat) with Companies A and C concurrently activated; Company B, 8th Aviation Battalionhad been separately activated 1 March 1977.
Followings its 1978 activation, the stated mission of the 8th Aviation Battalion was to “destroy enemy armored and mechanized forces by aerial combat power, using fire and maneuver as an integral part of the combined arms team during offensive, defensive, and retrograde operations.”