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.
For Enlisted personnel, the insignia is 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 U.S. Army Center of Military History has almost no information concerning the 1st Maintenance Battalion. A search for that specific title within the Web site domain (history.army.mil) reveals only that on 18 July 1942 a Company B was constituted in a unit designated the 1st Maintenance Battalion that at the time was part of the 304th Ordnance Regiment. The Institute of Heraldry Web site, however, confirms the authenticity of the 1st Maintenance Battalion’s Distinctive Unit Insignia and its Battalion motto "First To Maintain."
However, the
“U.S. Army in Germany" Web site has a fair amount of data on the “First To Maintain” battalion. The battalion’s Headquarters and A Company were activated on 2 August 1965, with three more companies rounding out the unit; B Company was established from the 14th Ordnance Company and C Company from the 15th Ordnance Company.
The companies were redesignated in 1972, with A Company first becoming the 78th Maintenance and then the 263rd Maintenance Company (Direct Support) and still stationed with the HQ; B Company designated as 22nd Maintenance Company and C Company as the 586th Maintenance Company, both Direct Support units; and D Company as 229th Service and Supply Company.