The United States Army Armor School unit patch—officially known as the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia-Military Operations In Hostile Conditions, or SSI-MOHC for short—was originally approved on 18 April 1958 for personnel assigned to the HQ and HQ Group, U.S. Army Armor Center. On 6 November 1970, its design was revised to make the insignia and tab into a single piece. Earlier versions of the patch had “USA Armor Center” instead of “The Armor School” inscribed on the tab.
Anyone even remotely familiar with Army insignia will instantly know the patch—or at least the colored version—belongs to an Armored unit: the triangular design, tri-fold division, three colors, and the images of a tank tread, gun, and lightning flash is used for Shoulder Sleeve Insignias for all of the Army’s Armored Divisions.
The colors blue, red, and yellow are associated with the three branches from which Armored units were originally formed: Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry, respectively. A tank tread symbolizes mobility; a gun represents power; and a lightning flash represents speed.
Related ItemsU.S. Army Armor School Unit Crest (DUI)Indeed, the only differences between the colored version of this insignia and that of any Armored Division is the “Armor School” tab (Divisions will have their own motto or nickname in the tab or might not have a tab at all) and the lack of the number seen in the yellow section of Divisional insignia.
Use the drop-down selection box to the right to specify either the color patch for the new AGSU uniform (also worn on the old “Army Greens” phased out in 2015) or the subdued insignia for the Army Combat Uniform, making sure to correctly specify either the UCP or OCP version of the patch.