The Distinctive Unit Insignia (AKA unit crest) of the “Faithful And Vigilant” 28th Air Defense Artillery Group was approved for wear on 18 September 1968. A pair of arrows highlights the insignia, and they symbolize more than the concept of air-defense missiles and air defense. Arrows are also the sign of a pre-determined direction and thus imply the issuance of an order, which in turn implies command. A pair of flashes at the base of each arrow represent electronic military communications; they are conjoined (attached at the middle) to signify the efficiency created by unit coordination. According to The Institute of Heraldry, the arrangement of the two arrows and the flashes simulate the unit’s numerical designation.
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.
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The 28th Air Defense Artillery Group was one of many ADA units established in the Cold War era designed to provide major U.S. cities with defense against nuclear-armed Soviet ICBMs. In the 1950s until the early 1970s, it was based at Selfridge Air Force Base (today known as Selfridge Air National Guard Base) in Harrison Township, Michigan, part of the Army’s Detroit Defense Area under Army Air Defense Command (ARADCOM). Although the Detroit Defense Area remained operational until ARADCOM was shuttered in 1974, budget cuts led the 28th Air Defense Artillery Group to relocate to Arlington Heights outside Chicago in 1971 until its own inactivation in 1974.