The Shoulder Sleeve Insignia worn by Ohio Army National Guard (ARNG) personnel assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters (HQ) of the state’s National Guard was originally approved for HQ and HQ Detachment, Ohio National Guard on 30 November 1948. Nearly twenty-six years later, the insignia was amended to include a symbolism on 7 May 1974, and subsequently was redesignated for HQ, State Area Command, Ohio Army National Guard on 30 December 1983. It was updated to amend the description and given its current designation with an effective date of 1 October 2003.
Its design is based on the Ohio State flag, the only non-rectangular flag flown by any of the fifty states. According to a description of the flag in the Ohio Revised Code’s Section 5.01, its blue field triangular field represents the state’s hills and valleys, while the “‘O’ represents the ‘O’ in ‘Ohio’” (Ed.—which “o”?) and also suggests the state’s nickname of the “Buckeye State.”
The color version of this patch is worn on the wearer’s left shoulder of the Army Green Service Uniform (it was also worn on the old Army Green service uniform that was replaced by the blue ASU in 2015). The ACU version of the patch comes in two styles, one for wear on the now-obsolete Army Combat Uniform made with the Univeral Camouflage Pattern (UCP) and another worn on the current ACU made with the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP).
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Ohio ARNG Element, Joint Force HQ Unit Crest (DUI)