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.The 162nd Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 16 May 1925. Its shield is blue, denoting the organization as a member of the Infantry branch of the Army, while the red fess (middle section) and blue shield combine to form the colors of the Philippine Service Ribbon. A cactus in the lower section denotes Mexican Border service, and the fasces from the arms of the French Republic signifies service in France. “First To Assemble” is the Regimental motto.
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.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
During World War I, the 162nd Infantry was assigned to the 81st Infantry Brigade, 41st Division, but upon arriving in France the Division was designated as the 1st Depot Division and sent to the St. Aignan Training Area. Here, it was broken up and organized into training cadres to instruct replacement troops to be sent to front-line combat divisions (although the 66th Artillery Brigade was left intact). The Division and the 162nd Infantry received uninscribed World War I streamers for their contributions to the ultimate Allied victory. In the Second World War, the 162nd remained assigned to the 81st Infantry Brigade, 41st Infantry Division, where it took part in three campaigns in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater—Papua, New Guinea, and Southern Philippines—and the 1st Battalion was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.
Both the 1st and 2nd Battalions have been deployed in the War on Terrorism, with the 1st Battalion the arriving in February 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. It would be the 1st Battalion's final deployment; in keeping with the National Guard Bureau’s implementation of the Army Transformation plan, the Battalion was inactivated in January 2006. 2nd Battalion arrived the following year for the first of two tours in Iraq (2004-2005, 2009-2010); in 2011, it would be awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation. 2014 saw the 2nd Battalion arrive in Afghanistan as par of the regular rotational movement of troops.
As of Winter 2023, the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment is assigned to the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard.