A blue shield edged with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) white border 2 3/4 inches (6.99 cm) in height and 2 1/8 inches (5.40 cm) in width overall, charged at upper center with a white star emitting seven white rays chevronwise to base terminating above a white engrailed horizontal line.
The shield is in two colors, blue and white, the colors of the Minnesota State flag. The white appears as a border around a sky-blue shield and a star in the upper half of the shield, rays emanating from the star, with a wavy bar across the lower half of the shield. The star symbolizes the North Star, as Minnesota is widely known as the "North Star State," with the motto "L'Etoile du Nord" incorporated in the State flag and the State seal. The white wavy bar across the lower half of the shield symbolizes water, as Minnesota is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," and the name Minnesota is said to be derived from the Sioux Indian language and to mean "water tinted like the sky," or "sky-tinted water."
The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved for Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, Minnesota Army National Guard on 23 April 1970. It was redesignated with description amended on 30 December 1983, for Headquarters, State Area Command, Minnesota Army National Guard. The insignia was redesignated for the Minnesota Army National Guard Element, Joint Force Headquarters and amended to update the description and add a symbolism effective 1 October 2003. (TIOH Dwg. No. A-1-535)