Throughout out the 18th and 19th centuries, the cot-ton industry was far and away the biggest economic driver in the state of Alabama. And despite its diminished role in the state’s 21st-century economy, it is still inextricably associated with the South in general and with Alabama—the “Heart of Dixie”—in particular. This heritage is celebrated in the Distinctive Unit Insignia of the Alabama Army National Guard Element, Joint Force Headquarters, which features a flowering cotton plant in full bloom in a red background and resting on a twisted wreath of red and white to reflect the English origins of the state’s first settlers. POPULI VOLUNTATI SUBSUMUS, the organization’s motto, is Latin for “To The Will Of The People We Subordinate Ourselves.”
Also called a unit crest, this Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI) has been assigned to Alabama National Guard units since 1928, when it was first approved for the organization’s State Staff Corps and Departments on the 16th of November. The creation of an Air National Guard in 1947 led to the need for a force structure based upon the two Guard elements, Army and Air Force, and thus on 6 June 1969 the insignia was redesignated for the HQ and HQ Detachment, as well as non-color bearing units, of the Alabama Army National Guard. The insignia would undergo one more redesignation—for the HQ, State Area Command, Alabama ARNG in December 1983—before being given its current designation on 1 October 2003.
Alabama Army National Guard Element, Joint Force HeadQuarters is located at Montgomery, Alabama.
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