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.
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.
Full 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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The 8th Transportation Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 22 August 1968. Two wheels aligned vertically represent motor transportation which was the unit’s primary mission in earlier years, with their positioning simulating an “8” for the numerical designation of the Brigade.
The yellow diamond-shaped figure with black drawings is the universal road sign system put forth by the United Nations. The bottom half has olive branches taken from the coat of arms of the city of Reims in France where German forces surrendered at the end of World War II and the Brigade’s predecessor unit, the 8th Traffic Regulation Group, was inactivated; two branches stand for two World War II campaigns.
A horizontal red line is an allusion to the Brigade’s daily line haul (movement of freight with any mode of transport by land, air, or waterway between distant points) and is also a reference to the motto, “Without Parallel.” The oriental dragon in the upper portion of the sign is a reference to service in Vietnam.
The 8th Transportation Brigade was inactivated in a ceremony held 30 July 2010 at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It had earned credit for participation in two World War II campaigns and a dozen during the Vietnam War. Under the command of Colonel Joe Bellino, the 8th Transportation Brigade helped develop new convoy doctrine and tactics, such as dedicated gun trucks, increasing the number of gun mounts from one to three per truck, and breaking convoys into smaller groups and slightly spaced apart. The new doctrine yielded immediate results in Vietnam, and were employed once again during the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom.