The 20th Aviation Brigade’s can be found in the Missouri Army National Guard and the formation of the 635th Aviation Group in October 1988. In 1989, the Group was given command of two Aviation Battalions (3-135 and 1-135) and the 205th Medical Battalion and was subsequently activated in the Missouri Army National Guard on 16 October 1989. The group was inactivated in August 1993, but four years later was reorganized and Federally recognized as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Aviation Brigade, 35th Infantry Division.
When the Brigade relocated to Sedalia, Missouri in 2003 it was redesignated 20th Aviation Brigade, but it operated as independent Brigade with its own insignia for only a half-dozen years before it was agains redesignated as an organic component of the 35th Infantry Division, this time as a Combat Aviation Brigade; it is now informally referred to as the 35th CAB and its members wear the 35th Infantry Division patch.
The 20th Aviation Brigade Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, approved for wear on 1 August 2003, features a shield with quadrants colored ultramarine blue and golden orange, the colors of Army Aviation. In the center, a winged sword indicates the aerial mission, swiftness of action, and military preparedness; twenty feathers on the two wings is a reference to the unit’s numerical designation. Superimposed on the winged sword is a blue star with a red border, colors that respectively denote fidelity and courage. The “outer” star (red border) stands for the U.S. as a whole, while the inner star (blue) represents citizens and states.
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