The Distinctive Unit Insignia (also called unit crest or DUI for short) of the 25th Signal Battalion consists of the shield and motto from the unit’s coat of arms. Purple rondels on a white field recall the types of grapes that are typically grown in the Rhineland and Central Europe, symbolizing the two European Theater campaigns the unit took part in during World War II. The weathercock in the center is a device that indicates wind direction; here it is combined with four lightning flashes to form a symbol of communications capable of reaching any quarter of the world. “Never Unprepared,” the unit motto, emphasizes the extreme important of vigilance in the field of signals and signal communications.
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. DUIs are not worn on the Dress variations of either uniform, however.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
The 25th Signal Battalion was originally constituted as the 25th Signal Construction Battalion in the Army of the United States on 3 February 1944, but was activated as the 25th Signal Light Construction Battalion. Before the end of the war, the Battalion would have the rare distinction of having served in both the European and Pacific Theaters, as well undergoing another redesignation as the 25th Signal Heavy Construction Battalion (26 June 1944).
In 1951, the unit was redesignated as the 25th Signal Construction Battalion, allotted to the Regular Army, and activated December 1. It would be given its current designation on 20 October 1953 and deployed to Germany in 1956, where it would serve until its inactivation on 1 October 1968. It was reactivated on 18 January 1971 at Fort Bragg (now known as Fort Liberty) and deployed to Kuwait to serve in two of the three Gulf War campaigns and earn a Meritorious Unit Commendation.
It underwent yet another inactivation on 15 October 1993, and twenty years would go by before its most recent activation on 16 October 2003 in Qatar; today, its Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment conducts operations and personnel manage in a split-base Operational Environment in Qatar and Afghanistan. Since the start of the War on Terrorism, the Battalion has been the recipient of three more Meritorious Unit Commendations. It is one of two Signal Battalions permanently assigned to the 160th Signal Brigade.