# Help identifying a military insignia **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021 "2020-02-16T14:46:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021/1 "2020-02-16T14:46:14Z")
Reverse image search didn’t come up with much, maybe something to do with the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard? Couldn’t find much to corroborate that, though. Link to image : > **[IMG\_20200215\_183031.jpg](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k3SLxXDW8sREo78PBM99TgA8ModCl5ja/view?usp=drivesdk)** > > Google Drive file. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021/2 "2020-02-16T15:41:29Z")
I looked up 33rd Infantry medals. Found this image… > **[33rd Support Group Unit Crest](https://www.usamm.com/products/special-troops-battalion-33rd-infantry-brigade-combat-team-unit-crest)** > > United States Army 33rd Support Group Unit Crest (No Motto) > Criteria: Unit Crests are unique to each unit in the U.S. Army and are officially known as Distin... ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021/3 "2020-02-16T15:44:59Z")
Similar medal. More info. > **[33rd Div DUI?](http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F329166-33rd-div-dui%2F)** > > I assume this is a DI for a unit of the 33rd Division, as it has a yellow cross in it. Anyone know which unit it might be? thanks ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021/4 "2020-02-16T16:27:21Z")
It’s not a medal. It’s a Distinctive Unit Insignia. It is a heraldic crest that every unit is assigned and is worn on the dress uniform or beret. That one is for the 33rd BCT Brigade Special Troop Battalion which is part of the Illinois National Guard. > **[Distinctive unit insignia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinctive_unit_insignia)** > > A distinctive unit insignia (DUI) is a metallic heraldic badge or device worn by soldiers in the United States Army. The DUI design is derived from the coat of arms authorized for a unit. DUIs may also be called "distinctive insignia" (DI) or, imprecisely, a "crest" or a "unit crest" by soldiers or collectors. The U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry is responsible for the design, development and authorization of all DUIs. > Distinctive ornamentation of a design desired by the organization was authoriz... ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021/5 "2020-02-16T16:41:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > It’s not a medal. It’s a Distinctive Unit Insignia. It is a heraldic crest that every unit is assigned and is worn on the dress uniform or beret. That one is for the 33rd BCT Brigade Special Troop Battalion which is part of the Illinois National Guard. > > [Distinctive unit insignia - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinctive_unit_insignia) I should mention that the BSTB organization is a relatively new type of unit. That crest looks old so the unit was probably called something else then. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-military-insignia/848021/6 "2020-02-16T20:08:21Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I should mention that the BSTB organization is a relatively new type of unit. That crest looks old so the unit was probably called something else then. Also a newly _old_ type of organization. The BSTBs in maneuver Brigade Combat Teams have been going away to be replaced by Brigade Engineer Battalions. That started before I retired in 2015. That is in the period where we were revamping the BCT organization back towards needing to be able to operate in large scale conventional operations. It looks like the current BEB for the 33rd BCT is the 766th Engineer Battalion. It [looks like](http://readme.readmedia.com/766th-Engineer-Battalion-in-Decatur-gets-new-commander-name/9773627) the transformation of the 766th Engineer Battalion to the 766th Brigade Engineer Battalion that is part of the 33rd BCT happened in October of 2014. I would assume the deactivation of the BSTB happened in a similar time frame. It seems the 766 BEB does not use that DUI. I would assume they had an associated historical DUI from their existence outside the 33rd BCT. I am guessing that is what they used on the [webpage](https://766beb.ticketleap.com/766-beb-ball/)for their upcoming Brigade Ball. I am not digging deeper for them. It looks like that DUI is still in use by the 33rd IBCT itself. It is at least [for sale](https://www.saundersinsignia.com/33rdinfantrybrigadeunitcrest.aspx) as their crest. In current use, I would assume I was seeing a soldier of the brigade headquarters and headquarters company.