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.
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The Distinctive Unit Insignia of the Special Troops Battalion, 42nd Infantry Division, New York Army National Guard was approved for wear on 3 December 2009. The badge-shaped shield portion of the insignia is divided into three distinct parts. In the upper third, called the chief, is a horizontally oriented black sword with a white lightning flash on its blade that reinforces the fact that the Battalion was more than capable of defending, supporting and communicating when called to defend the Homeland.
The lower two-thirds of the insignia is vertically bisected into equal areas. On the left are three diagonal stripes—red, gold, and blue. Blue is the color of Infantry as well as for loyalty (“true blue”) and love of country and family. Gold signifies honor and excellence, and the scarlet is for valor and sacrifice. Just as importantly, these three stripes are adapted from the famous “Rainbow” Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by the 42nd Infantry Division in World Wars I and II.
On the right side are the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, recalling the 42nd Infantry Division’s call to active Federal Military service in the Global War on Terrorism. The sacrifice of American citizens on 11 September 2001 is commemorated with the powerful motto of “Never Forget.” The black scroll is rendered the same as the scroll on the Great Seal of the State of New York.
As of Winter 2024, there is no Special Troops Battalion listed in the 42nd Infantry Division’s Order of Battle, which indicates it likely has been redesignated, reflagged, inactivated, or disbanded pursuant to the Army’s 2020 Force Structure Realignment plan announced in 2013 that called for the reflagging of Special Troops Battalions as Brigade Engineer Battalions.