Informally referred to as a unit patch, the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia approved for Tennessee Army National Guard (ARNG) personnel assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters (HQ) of the state’s National Guard features a hickory star holding three stars resting on a twisted wreath of red and white. The tree is a reference to President Andrew Jackson, who acquired the moniker “Old Hickory” because of his toughness as a fighter and military commander. The three stars are an allusion to the state’s three grand divisions (East, Middle, and West), while the red and white of the wreath acknowledge the first non-Native settlers as having English origins.
First approved for the HQ and HQ Detachment, Tennessee ARNG on 29 May 1950, the insignia was amended to add symbolism in April 1974 before it was redesignated for the HQ, State Area Command, Tennessee ARNG. The insignia was given its current designation for the Tennessee ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ, Tennessee National Guard on 1 October 2003.
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Tennessee ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)