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. 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.
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.
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The 6253rd U.S. Army Hospital Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved for wear on 27 February 1975. It employs a multi-layered design with a golden square at the bottom with a maroon cross surmounted by a red scroll divided with three folds enclosing a heraldic fountain—a circle containing wavy blue and white lines.
In heraldry, gold universally represents excellence and high achievement; here it also stands for perfection, equality, and fairness. The maroon cross is a traditional symbol for assistance and aid and alludes to the unit’s basic mission, while the fountain is a symbol of both healing and the San Francisco Bay, home location of the organization at the time the insignia was approved.
A unit in the Army Reserve, the 6253rd U.S. Army Hospital is a Table of Allowances unit that is activated as needed to augment existing Army hospitals in the United States. As of Autumn 2023, the official Web site of the United States Army Reserve lists the Hospital as a subordinate unit in the Army Reserve Medical Command’s Western Medical Readiness Support Group, but does not display a home station or HQ location.