The 156th Engineer Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI), also called a unit crest, was originally approved for the Special Troops Battalion, 56th Brigade Combat Team, 36th Infantry Division on 26 June 2007. It was redesignated for the 156th Engineer Battalion, with updated symbolism, with an effective date of 1 September 2014. Today, it is worn by members of the 156th Brigade Engineer Battalion.
The combination of the pale (vertical bar) and chief (upper third) of the shield portion of the insignia form a capital letter “T,” an allusion to Texas that points to the unit’s affiliation in the Texas Army National Guard. Inside the “T” is a gauntleted hand holding a crossed key and lightning flash; the gauntlet signifies the Brigade’s combat capabilities and its readiness to carry out all missions.
Special Troops Battalions do not all have the same components, but almost all of them have units drawn from the Military Intelligence, Signal, and Engineer Corps, and these are all represented in the insignia. The key is associated with the safekeeping of Military Intelligence; the lightning flash is a ubiquitous image in Signal heraldry and alludes to the speed of modern communications and electronics capabilities; and the red embattled wall represents the Battalion’s Engineer capabilities.
EX MAGNO AD MAXIMU, the unit motto, is Latin for “Great To Greatness.”
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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 (ASU, Enlisted only) with the base of the insignia toward the outside shoulder seam. Current regulations do not permit the DUI to be 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.
More 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.