U.S. ARMY 1169TH ENGINEER GROUP UNIT CREST (DUI)

Distinctive Unit Insignias are 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. Enlisted personnel wear the insignia 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.

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 Institute of Heraldry does not have a description or background information regarding the Distinctive Unit Insignia (also called a unit crest or DUI) of the 1169th Engineer Group, Alabama Army National Guard, nor does the United States Army Center of Military History have lineage or honors information for the unit. Nonetheless, we can determine the symbolism of some of the images on the 1169th Engineer Group DUI from extant new reports of its service history.

In the center of the insignia is a variation of a taegeuk, a Korean symbol denoting harmony that shares the same basic design as the familiar yin-yang symbol. A taegeuk is feature on the flag of South Korea, but the one found on the 1169th Engineer Group unit crest has a white outside border and a wavy white line dividing the red and blue areas. It’s included here to reflect the 1169th Engineer Group’s deployment to Korea in February 1951, with the snowy mountain in the background symbolizing the mountainous terrain of Korea; the pickaxe and axe are likely a reference to having served with a Mountain unit.

Behind the snowy mountain peak is a series of stylized mountain peaks suggesting a mountain range. This is likely an allusion to the Group’s deployment to Ecuador to assist in building a road through the rugged interior of Ecuador. Originally designated as Blazing Trails, the project was renamed Abriendo Rutas (Opening Roads) and involved some 8,000 Soldiers drawn from all three components of the U.S. Army. Running from June 1986 to December 1987, the project required personnel to haul heavy equipment over the Andes mountain range, referenced by these stylized mountain peaks.

In 2006, the 1169th Engineer Group was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where it served as the Engineer Headquarters for the 1st Cavalry Division. Its exceptional service between November 2006 and September 2007 in support of the Multi-National Division—Baghdad was recognized with a Meritorious Unit Commendation for the Group’s HQ and HQ Company. The Group was inactivated upon its return from in Iraq in late 2007 or early 2008, having more than lived up to its unit motto to “Defend Liberty.”

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