The U.S. Army Field Artillery School Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, or unit patch, was first approved on 17 July 1970 and was amended on 9 June 1981 to extend wear authorization to personnel assigned to the U.S. Army Field Artillery Center. It incorporates the Field Artillery branch color with a red background and augments it with gold trim, a color combination frequently used in Artillery heraldry.
In the center is the image of a field piece circa the 16th century, a forerunner of today’s modern Field Artillery guns, that is taken from the device of the Field Artillery School, which also features arm of Saint Barbara—patron saint of Artillery—holding lightning flashes as an allusion to the mythical god Jove and one of his favored methods of destruction.
The establishment of a Field Artillery School was spurred on in part by a report written by Army Captain Dan Moore after observing the training at European Field Artillery Schools. Opened in September 1911, the School of Fire for Field Artillery was tasked with training both Officers and NCOS, with a mission objective that remains essentially unchanged over a century later: Provide theoretical and practical instructions on the latest Field Artillery weapons and fire-direction procedures.
While the mission remained the same, but the School’s designation did not. Since its 1911, the institution has been known as The Artillery School (1946-55), The Artillery and Guided Missile School (1955-57), U.S. Army Artillery and Guided Missile School (1957), U.S. Army Artillery and Missile School (1957-69), and its current designation of U.S. Army Field Artillery School. (1969-present).
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