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.
The 412th Support Battalion Distinctive Unit Insignia was approved on 10 May 2006, but was also worn by members of the next iteration of that organization, the 412th Aviation Support Battalion. Indeed, the insignia was in fact designed with the foreknowledge that the unit would provide support for the 12th Combat Aviation brigade: per The Institute of Heraldry description of the insignia, the12 rays emanating from the sun in splendor allude to a bomb burst as a way to represent the organization’s support relation with the 12th CAB.
A pair of spread blue wings are emblems of the Battalion’s Aviation support mission, with the five arrowheads on the wings denoting the five tactical support functions: Transportation, Ordnance, Quartermaster, Health Service, and Signal. Also, the chevrons have been arranged to form a reversed chevron to represent its combat-support assignment and the military-readiness functions it provides. “Professionals” was the Battalion motto.
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.
According to an
article detailing the 412th Aviation Support Battalion’s inactivation ceremony held on 21 July 2015 at Katterbach Army Airfield in Ansbach, Germany, the unit was created on 7 August 2006 and activated at Shipton Kaserne in Ansbach. It was deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and once to Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom.
In January 2011, the Battalion’s Headquarters and Service Company, along with Companies A, B, and C, were tapped for a Meritorious Unit Commendation for service between October 2009 and July 2010. The Battalion’s A and C Companies were chosen individually for the MUC in October 2014, both for service between 28 August 2012 and 1 March 2013.