U.S. ARMY 142ND SIGNAL BRIGADE UNIT CREST (DUI)

The 142nd Signal Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia share several design elements with the Brigade’s unit patch (officially called a Shoulder Sleeve Insignia). These include a diamond-shaped charge that recalls the appearance of early radio antennas and four lightning flashes that suggest the speed of electronic communications, configured saltirewise to represent the saltire on the state flag of Alabama. Unlike the unit patch, however, the diamond is shaded black and white to reflect the right and day, round-the-clock work of the unit, and the four arrows on this insignia are merged with the lightning flashes on the unit patch. The arrows and the disc connecting them are symbols of the command, control, training, and logistical support provided by the Brigade.

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 (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. Current regulations do not permit the DUI to be 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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Originally constituted as the 142nd Signal Group in the Alabama National Guard in 1960, the 142nd Signal Brigade was created through the Group’s redesignation and reorganization in 1978. The Group was called into active Federal service twice by President John F. Kennedy to enforce the mandatory desegregation of the University of Alabama and at previously all-white public schools in Birmingham, Mobile, and Tuskegee.

After its redesignation in 1978, the 142nd Signal Brigade became the first multicomponent brigade-level unit in the Army after the Army assigned it the 29th Signal Battalion in September 1999. In 2005, some of the Brigade’s subordinate units were deployed to Iraq in support of the Global War on Terrorism and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Brigade was inactivated in August 2008, casing its colors at a ceremony held 3 August 2008 at Fort Quarles-Flowers Reserve Center in its home city of Decatur, Alabama, memorializing the Brigade's commitment to its motto "For State And Nation."

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U.S. ARMY 142ND SIGNAL BRIGADE UNIT CREST (DUI)