The
Mostly Obscure History
of the
MI Branch Insignia
The Official Insignia of the U.S.
Army Military Intelligence Branch
Description:
On a dagger point
up, a heralding sun all in gold charged with an
oriental blue rose.
(Designed by Stafford Potter,
Lieutenant Colonel, United States Marine Corps
(retired), while chief of Creative Heraldry
Division. Accepted in 1962)
So reads the official Heraldry
Division description of the well known MI Branch
Insignia...the one all in this room either wear
or secretly long to wear. Infantry guys would be
content to accept so terse a description without
further thought, preferring to spend their idle
time in pursuit of attractive female members of
the species.
However, Military Intelligence
soldiers are born analysts. And, since they normally
attract all the attention they could ever want
from members of the opposite sex, they therefore
have both the time and inclination to ponder the
deeper mysteries of the universe. Such a mystery
is the origin of our branch insignia. Let us
therefore explore the history behind this
treasured icon.
The sun, composed of
four straight and four wavy alternating rays, is
the symbol of Helios.
In Greek mythology, Helios was the god
of the Sun who drove his horse-drawn chariot
across the sky each day and was therefore reputed
to be able to see and hear everything that
occurred in the land. But the legend has another
aspect. Helios was forgotten when ZEUS divided
the earth among the gods. Disgruntled, he
petitioned Zeus and received as his domain the
island of RHODES. Most appropriate, as America is
often referred to as the Nation of Roads.
However, another theory indicates,
that the original specifications were
misunderstood. Instead of including the emblem of
the mythical Pagan god Helios, they really meant
a HELIOSTAT, a device consisting of one or two
rotating plane mirrors that feed light from an
astronomical object into a fixed telescope. The
instrument is most commonly used for directing
sunlight into a solar telescope during a
particular observation, and far better represents
the obscure but highly exotic technological
equipment within MI units.
The four straight rays
of the Sun symbol also allude to the four points
of the compass and the worldwide mission of the
Military Intelligence Branch.
The introduction of Solar Radiation
into the insignia supports the HELIOSTAT theory.
It is also quite appropriate since this radiation
is the essential source of energy and life on
Earth, just as Good Intelligence is the essential
source of energy and life during combat
operations. It is a striking analogy in other
ways.
 The sun is 150
million kilometers from the earth, about as
far away as National Intelligence when you
really need it.
Because of this
distance, only about one two-millionth of all
the energy emitted by the Sun is received by
the Earth. Ditto with national intelligence.
When solar radiation
enters the Earth's atmosphere, the most
powerful stuff is mostly absorbed in the
upper levels. Ditto with national
intelligence.
Humans moving into
the upper echelons of the atmosphere risk
serious injury unless wearing an extremely
thick, artificial skin. Ditto with national
intelligence jobs.
The partially concealed,
unsheathed dagger alludes to the aggressive and
protective requirements and the element of
physical danger inherent in the Intelligence
mission.
Careful research indicates that it was
only through pure good fortune that the most
appropriate metaphor of a Dagger
became part of our insignia. Luckily an unknown
clerk’s carelessness with chewing tobacco
disfigured the second letter in this particular
word, and it was erroneously read as
"DAGGER". Historians speculating on the
identity of the original word generally accept
one of two theories:
Theory 1. That the
word was "DOGGER", referring to
Dogger Bank, a shoal about 260 km long and
100 km wide in the middle latitudes of the
North Sea, between Great Britain and Denmark.
Its shallow waters are noted for their
turbulence and for the great numbers of cod,
haddock, herring, and mackerel, which were
the primary ingredient to the Fish &
Chips favored by the cryptanalysts working at
a secluded manor house in Bletchley Park,
England, and who later broke the German
Enigma Code. As their ULTRA intelligence was
crucial to the war against Germany, many feel
this would justify inclusion in the MI
Insignia.
Theory 2. That the
word was "DIGGER", referring to the
Digger Indians. Also known as the Paiute
(PY-OOT’) these are North American
Indians who occupied portions of Oregon,
Idaho, Nevada, California, parts of Utah,
and, notably, Arizona. They subsisted
principally by digging for roots and planted
maize and squash in irrigated fields. Most
significantly, they made a variety of twined
and coiled baskets adapted for seed collecting, processing, and
storage. Since MI
Branch does that with Intelligence, and since
the Home of MI is in Arizona, this theory was
considered the strongest for many
years....until 1989, when new leadership at
the intelligence school made it clear that
Intelligence should be DISSEMINATED,
not STORED.
However, a few within the branch still
haven’t gotten the word and Theory 2
remains viable, if less popular.
The placement of the Sun
symbol beneath the oriental blue rose (an ancient
symbol of secrecy) refers to the operations and
activities of the Branch being conducted in
secret and under circumstances forbidding
disclosure.
This entire concept is jeopardized by
the well known fact that the American Rose
Society does not recognize the existence of a
naturally occurring Oriental Blue Rose. Red,
Pink, Lavender, Purple, Yellow, Apricot,
Orange-Red, Orange to Golden, White to Cream and
Multicolor are the accepted colors. Obviously the
designers had something else in mind. There are
several theories...
Theory 1 - Rose of
Jericho, the common name for Anastatica
hierochuntica. This is a small rounded herb
in the mustard family which is native to
deserts from Arabia to Syria and Algeria. As
you may recall, after fruiting, the plant
sheds its leaves and rolls up into a dry
ball, which is blown across the desert. When
it reaches a moist area, the seeds are
dropped and immediately start to germinate.
This is quite similar to the actions of
exhausted MI Branch soldiers who, dried up
after a fruitful career, likewise roll up
into a ball and blow across the desert to the
oasis of Fort Huachuca, hoping to germinate
again some day.
Theory 2 - Rosemary,
an evergreen shrub of the mint family. Highly
valued because the flower clusters are the
source of rosemary oil, which is used in
cheap perfumes, this plant DOES have blue
flower clusters, and has long been a symbol
of fidelity and remembrance, true MI virtues.
Theory 3 - The War of
the Roses. This was a series of armed clashes
between the House of LANCASTER and the House
of YORK, rival claimants to the English
crown. Some say, erroneously of course, this
symbolizes the relationship between G2s and
MI Battalion commanders. The true symbology
probably lies elsewhere. The war’s name
refers to the white rose of York and the red
rose of Lancaster--badges supposedly used by
the contenders. It is a little known fact
that the entire war was instigated by a third
party, the House of HOUSE* and its badge of
the Blue Rose. Legend has it that this
instigation was done to standard, not time,
and that the entire Household secretly booked
passage shortly thereafter on the Mayflower.
This is the favored theory, in that it
explains the color scheme of the British
Flag. It is also worth noting that the name
"House" does NOT appear on the
manifest of the Mayflower, confirming a
clandestine departure.
The color gold signifies
successful accomplishment.
This is most likely the correct
interpretation because of the universal
association of successful accomplishment with
wealth, and the association of wealth with the
possession of much gold. It is also the origin of
such phrases as
His
word is Golden
Good
as Gold
And, of course, the most appropriate:
Silence
is Golden.
So on that note
we conclude the Mostly Obscure History of the MI
Branch Insignia.
* First presented (in a highly
edited form) at the Military Intelligence Ball,
Fort Riley, Kansas on 13 May, 1995. The
commanding General at the time was Major General
Randolph House. Contrary to some reports, this
presentation was in no way responsible for the
author's foray into private enterprise.
© Copyright The S2 Company, 2002, All Rights
Reserved. Unlimited personal use and free distribution encouraged
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