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.
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.
The unit motto of “Valor And Worth,” inscribed in maroon script on a golden scroll, serves as the foundation for the 139th Medical Brigade Distinctive Unit Insignia, which was originally approved for wear on 15 January 1969 when the unit was designated as a Medical Group.
Serving as a backdrop to the insignia is a heart that, in combination with the national colors of red, white, and blue, is a reference to the activation of the unit at Kansas City, Missouri, nicknamed the “Heart of the United States of America.” On its own, the heart is a symbol of compassion and care associated with medical treatment. Superimposed on the heart is a device called a cross potent. Frequently employed in heraldry for medical units, it is formed from four T-shaped arms that represent crutches (the cross potent is also called a crutch cross). A blue star is a symbol of command as well as of guidance, with its five points serving as an oblique reference to the unit’s initial assignment to Fifth Army.
Customers purchasing the 139th Medical Brigade unit crest may wish to add the
Brigade’s unit patch (SSI) to their shopping carts.