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."
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The 425th Medical Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 19 January 1995. Its maroon and white tones denote the organization’s status as part of the Army Medical Corps, with white also invoking the ethics of purity of and integrity essential in a Medical unit. Gold is used for the dragon and inscription to convey the notions of excellence, achievement, and lofty ideals; red is the color sacrifice and vitality.
According to The Institute Of Heraldry, the dragon on the shield is grasping a Medieval weapon called a mace, but much more closely resembles another weapon from the Middle Ages called a “morning star.” Nonetheless, the image is inspired by the unit motto, “Power In The Dragons Teeth,” with the mace/morning star acknowledging the military nature of the unit’s mission and the phrase “dragons teeth” recalling the Asian belief that the teeth of dragons had powerful curative qualities.
Note: The U.S. Army Center of Military History Web site does not have a listing for the 425th Medical Battalion in the “Lineages and Honors” section of its Unit History resources, and extensive searches of current Army Medical units yield no results for the Battalion. The Battalion’s World War II service record of taking part in the Northern France and Central Europe campaigns is listed in the July 1961 edition of Department of the Army Pamphlet 672-1,
Unit Citation And Campaign Participation Credit Register, but the only other readily available information on unit is that it was a subordinate unit of the 409th Engineer Special Brigade formed in December 1946.
We encourage visitors with any information regarding the lineage and
history of the 425th Medical Battalion to contact us so we may share it with visitors searching for information on the organization.