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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
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The 16th Air Defense Artillery Group Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 15 August 1973. Palm branches and a barbed spear—the latter adapted from the spear held by Kamehameha on the Hawaiian state seal—represent the Group’s service in Hawaii and the Central Pacific during World War II. An arrowhead capped with a fleur-de-lis is a symbol of the unit’s participation in the Normand landings and subsequent European campaigns during World War II. The blue background is a reference to the sky, operational area for an Air Defense Artillery organization, while the crossed spears are a sign of the deadly accuracy of Surface-to-Air missiles and thus the basic mission of the Air Defense Artillery branch.
Following its combat action in World War II, the “Vigilant Guardians” of the 16th Air Defense Artillery Group was headquartered at the Highlands Army Air Defense Site in Middletown Township, New Jersey, with defenses deployed just offshore at Sandy Hook, New York. On 15 August 1974, the Army formally deactivated the 16th Air Defense Artillery Group at Fort Hancock and dedicated Guardian Park in commemoration of the Nike Missile Air Defenses, which were seen as the last "guardians" of the New York Metropolitan area in the event of an enemy missile attack.