Also known as a unit crest or DUI, 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."♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The U.S. Army Element, Special Operations Central Command Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved for wear on 3 May 2005, more than twenty years after the Command was established in 1983. MOLON LABE, the Command motto, is Greek for “Come And Take Them”—the response Spartan King Leonidas gave to the invading Persian emperor Xerxes after he demanded the Spartan and Greek defenders hand over their weapons before the Battle of Thermopylae.
A pair of ultramarine blue wings enwraps almost the entire insignia and represent airborne and air operations. Between them is a red trident, symbolic of Naval operations both on and below the surface, and a pair of lightning flashes within the trident signify speed and modern communications. A black dagger is an allusion to Special Forces, with the color black an allusion to covert operations.
A Unified Combatant Command, the United States Central Command was established in 1983 to replace the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force. It Area of Responsibility includes the Middle East (plus Egypt in the north of Africa), Central Asia, and part of South Asia. It is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.
Related Items U.S. Army Special Operations Command Central Patch (SSI)
U.S. Army Special Operations Command Central Combat Service ID Badge (CSIB)
U.S. Army Special Operations Command Central Beret Flash and Oval