As with many Army National Guard insignia designs, the “design elements” (i.e., rays of sunlight emerging from behind a snow-capped peak) used for the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by Montana Army National Guard (ARNG) personnel serving at the Joint Force Headquarters (HQ), Montana National Guard are said to be taken from its states' Great Seal.
A close inspection of the Seal, however, reveals no distinct rays of sunlight streaming upward behind an impressive mountain peak, but rather a vista bathed in diffused golden sunlight; to find the stirring image of sunbeams bursting upward, you must turn to the State’s Coat of Arms, which also has what appear to be snow-covered mountains. According to The Institute of Heraldry, the “mountain peaks [sic]” in this insignia “allude to ‘Montana,’ a Spanish word for mountain.’”
This insignia was originally approved HQ and HQ Detachment, Montana National Guard on 27 May 1952 and was redesignated for all non-divisional units of the Guard on 2 September 1955. It was then redesignated on 30 December 1983 for HQ, State Area Command, Montana ARNG, a designation it retained for almost thirty years. On 1 October 2003, the insignia was given its current designation of Montana ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ and was concurrently amended to update the description and add a symbolism.
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