Commonly referred to as a shoulder patch or unit patch, the Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by U.S. Army personnel assigned to United States Forces Korea was approved on 18 June 2012. The defensive nature of the organization’s mission is reflected in the insignia’s shape of a shield, traditionally a sign of defense in heraldry.
In the insignia’s chief (upper third), the initialism USFK is for United States Forces Korea, now a sub-unified command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command that was originally activated on 1 July 1957. Four white stars on a blue background are memorials to the service of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines Corps in defending the sovereignty of the Republic of Korea, while the stylized American Eagle is an emblem of cohesion and unit among the different services in this joint mission. Laurel sprigs and arrows are a sign of the USFK and its mission to defeat aggression.
This insignia is based entirely on the official emblem of United States Forces Korea that was prepared and approved by the Commander, U.S. Forces, Korea on 6 May 1993.