Important: Be aware that cancellation requests for bullion shoulder straps must be made within 24 hours of placing an order because of the substantial time investment required for the custom hand embroidery process.
The Staff Specialist Branch is unique to the Army's two Reserve components, the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve. It is comprised of those personnel who have completed an officer training program but who have not been detailed to a specific branch such (Armor, Ordnance, Military Intelligence, and so forth).
Originally established during World War I to accommodate incoming officers whose skills or professions were not particularly applicable to service in any of the traditional branches of the Army, the Staff Specialist Branch was at first a designation rather than a branch; in 1933, unassigned officers were given the loquacious title “Officers not members of an Arm or Service,” which was changed eight years later to “Officers not members of Arm or Service, Special Reserve.” In 1979, the title was changed to Staff Specialists, Army National Guard / U.S. Army Reserve.
For many decades, chaplain candidates were members of the Staff Specialist branch, but in 2012 they were moved into the Chaplain Corps and given their own insignia and collar devices. Two of the elements of the Staff Specialist branch insignia—the book representing regulations and the laurel spray denoting the recognition of honorable administration of military regulations—were used to create the Chaplain Candidate’s device. The sword placed atop the book stands for the military nature of the regulations that are being administered.
The Staff Specialist shoulder strap features a gold border on a field of green, cable 65007. The only other branch which uses this shade is Military Police, which uses it as its primary color along with yellow.
Related Army Reserve / National Guard Staff Specialist Items