Though not mentioned specifically in either DA 670-1 or AR 670-1, branch-colored shoulder cords may be authorized for wear by local Commanders for ceremonial events. The colors green and yellow have been associated with the Military Police Corps since April 1922, when the branch was assigned yellow with green piping. Nearly 30 years later, those colors were reversed because yellow had been assigned as the official color of the Armor branch (with green authorized for the coloring of the insigna). Green and yellow shoulder cords may also be authorized by such military-related organizations as ROTC and Junior ROTC programs.
The U.S. Army has employed various types of shoulder cords as far as 1832, when it first authorized the wear of aiguillettes by “field offices and commissioned staff.” Unlike the metal-tipped versions worn today, the aiguillettes of that era were described as “twisted gold cord, with gilt tags, to be worn under the epaulette of the right shoulder.” Braided-ornamentation was introduced for enlisted personnel in 1902 in the form of breast cords worn when a full-dress uniform was prescribed, but unlike today’s shoulder cords these passed under both shoulder loops and crossed the wearer’s chest.