On a silver gray square arched convexly to top and bottom and edged with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) blue border: a silver gray figure garnished blue garbed in blue top coat cuffed gray and a blue tricorn hat, grasping in his right hand a blue musket and pouring powder to it from a gray powder horn held in his left hand. Attached above a gray scroll edged with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) blue border inscribed "NATHAN" in red letters. Attached below a gray scroll edged with a 1/8 inch (.32 cm) blue border inscribed "HALE" in red letters. The overall dimensions are 3 1/2 inches (8.89 cm) in height by 2 1/2 inches (6.35 cm) in width.
Blue, red and gray are the school colors. The Revolutionary War dressed figure recalls one of the heroes of independence, the school's namesake, Nathan Hale. The stars symbolize the thirteen original colonies and the many people who struggled for independence and reflect the cadets' commitment to school, community and country.
The shoulder sleeve insignia was approved on 22 April 1998.