Worn today by Mississippi Army National Guard (ARNG) personnel assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters (HQ) of the state’s National Guard, this Should Sleeve Insignia was originally authorized for HQ and HQ Detachment, Mississippi National Guard on 25 August 1960. It was redesignated on 30 December 1983 for the HQ, State Area Command, Mississippi ARNG before being given its current designation—along with an amendment to update the description—almost twenty years later on 1 October 2003.
More commonly known as a unit patch, this insignia’s design pays homage to the organization’s home state of Mississippi with the image of a blossoming magnolia, a beautiful flower so prevalent Mississippi is called simply “the Magnolia State.” Surmounted on the magnolia is a trident, the “scepter” of Neptune—the mythological Greco-Roman “Father of Waters,” which is the English translation of “Mississippi” from its Algonquian-speaking origins. The light blue in the background is the color of Infantry.
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Mississippi ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)