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.
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The 296th Infantry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 4 February 1941.
It features a blue shield to denote its status as an Infantry organization (blue is the Infantry color), with a bastion and sentry box rising from the sea that is in fact a depiction of the sentry tower at Castillo San Felipe del Morro (“El Morro” for short), an iconic fortification built by the Spanish on a 140-foot promontory at the entrance to the Bay of San Juan. The tower symbolizes the 296th Infantry and its steadfast defense of the island; the wavy bars is waters of the Atlantic Ocean and San Juan Bay.
“Alerta Esta,” the unit motto, was the reply used by sentinels when being questioned by officers of the guard during tours of inspection to determine their alertness. It translate to “Alert He Is.”
The 296th Infantry Regiment is a disbanded unit of the Puerto Rican Army National Guard. It served from 1922 to 1964, and upon its disbandment its two Battalions became part of the 92nd Infantry Brigade; its sole descendant unit is a single Battalion in the 92nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.