The Distinctive Unit Insignia of the North Carolina Army National Guard Element, Joint Force Headquarters was originally approved for the North Carolina National Guard’s State Staff and State Detachment on 30 November 1928. It was redesignated for the Headquarters (HQ) and HQ Detachment and non-color bearing units of the North Carolina Army National Guard (ARNG) on 27 March 1972. Effective 1 October 1982, it was again redesignated, this time for the HQ, State Area Command, North Carolina ARNG. It would retain this designation for precisely twenty-one years before being redesignated—and amended to update the description and add a symbolism—on 1 October 2003.
Also called a unit crest or DUI, this Distinctive Unit Insignia features the imagery used on the first flag of North Carolina, which included the date of May 20, 1775 in addition to a hornets’ nest. It was on that date the citizens of Mecklenburg country declared themselves to be independent from England, an announcement that is verified by both British documents and in written records saved by eyewitnesses. The hornets’ nest is a reference to statement recorded by General Charles Cornwallis that “Charlotte Town was a hornets’ nest” after the citizens of that city and of Mecklenburg County had driven out occupying British troops.
The Joint Force Headquarters of the North Carolina National Guard are located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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