Also known as a unit crest or DUI, a 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.
The 638th Military Intelligence Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia seen here was the second design approved for the Indiana Army National Guard unit. After it was approved on 20 April 1999, the insignia that was originally approved for the 638th MI Battalion was cancelled with the effective date backdated to 21 September 1998.
A black dagger of the style favored by Special Forces is the focal point of the shield portion of the insignia, with the primary Military Intelligence color of oriental blue used for the field containing a crossed key and lightning bolt. The latter is a common image for both Military Intelligence and Signal Corps heraldry, as it denotes the incredible speed at which both missions are carried out in the 21st century.
A key refers to security and secrecy, the modes under which the unit carries out its operations and directives. An upright dagger is the symbol of both military preparedness and the element of danger necessarily involved in some of the unit’s missions. The contrast of the black dagger and the white key and lightning bolt allude to the need to conduct missions during both day and night, as well as the covert and overt operations that fall within the wheelhouse of a Military Intelligence Battalion. “First Out Front” is the unit motto.
According to the April 2010 edition of
The Cycloner, published by the 38th Division Association, the 638th Military Intelligence Battalion was inactivated at some point during the first decade of the 2000s. The last reference to the Battalion as an active unit is a story (“America Supports You: Guard Soldiers, Families Get Books”) dated May 2007 that
can be found on the official Web site of the United States National Guard.