The Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by New Mexico Army National Guard (ARNG) assigned to Joint Force Headquarters (HQ), New Mexico National Guard was first approved back in March 1975 for HQ and HQ Detachment, New Mexico National Guard and was redesignated for the HQ, State Area Command, New Mexico Army National Guard on 12 August 1985. It was given its current designation for the New Mexico ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ on 1 October 2003.
Red and yellow, official colors of the state of New Mexico, are exclusively used in design of the insignia, which features in its center a symbol called the Zia Sun Symbol that was first officially used for the New Mexico state flag after being selected from numerous entries in a contest to choose a state flag.
A sacred symbol of the Zia peoples, the design incorporates the four cardinal directions, the four seasons, the four periods of a day (morning, noon, evening, and night), and the four seasons of life (childhood, youth, middle age, old age). In its center is the yellow disc that is the sun, the symbol of life itself according to Zia beliefs.
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New Mexico ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)