Introducing project “Military Insignia”, featuring top quality military heraldry designs. Here you will find designer apparel, accessories, custom postage and gifts decorated with insignia of the 34th Infantry Division. The 34th Infantry Division is a division in the Army National Guard that participated in World War I, World War II and continues to serve today, with most of the Division part of the Minnesota and Iowa National Guard. It holds the distinctions of being the first US Division deployed to Europe in World War II. The division takes its name from the shoulder sleeve insignia designed for a 1917 training camp contest by American regionalist artist Marvin Cone, who was then a soldier enlisted in the unit. In World War I, the unit was called the "Sandstorm Division." German troops in World War II, however, called the U.S. division's soldiers "Red Devils" and "Red Bulls"; the division later officially adopted the latter nickname. The Army Rangers also trace their lineage back to the 34th Division. The modern incarnation of the Rangers were developed from 34th Infantry volunteers in Ireland under the command of Major William O. Darby. The 34th Infantry Division was the first National Guard Division to transform to the Army's modular and expeditionary Brigade Combat Team Structure. The Division's force structure has grown and is now spread across several midwest states (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and Missouri). In May 2004, the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry Regiment (augmented by Company D, 2nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment), 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry Division, and with nearly 100 key positions filled by members of the 1st Battalion (IRONMAN), 133rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry Division, commenced combat operations at 13 Provincial Reconstruction Team sites throughout Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, returning the Red Bull patch to combat after 59 years and earning the Battalion the distinction of becoming the first unit in the 34th Infantry Division to wear the Red Bull patch as a right-shoulder combat patch since World War II. In March 2006, the first brigade of the 34th Infantry Division commenced combat operations in central and southern Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, marking the largest single unit deployment for the 34th Infantry Division since World War II. With its return in July 2007, the brigade became one of the longest serving unit (Activated for 22 months total with 16 in Iraq) in Iraq of the Army National Guard. In August 2010, nearly 3,000 Iowa Army National Guard soldiers, with 28 hometown send-offs, officially left for a year long deployment to Afghanistan, making it the largest deployment of the Iowa National Guard since World War II. Augmented by the 1–134th Cavalry Reconnaissance and Surveillance Squadron of the Nebraska Army National Guard, the brigade conducted pre-mobilization training began in Mississippi and also took place in California. The troops plan to partner with Afghanistan security forces to provide security and assist in training. The shoulder sleeve insignia was originally approved for the 34th Division on 28 June 1922. It was redesignated for the 34th Command Headquarters (Divisional), Iowa National Guard on 16 October 1963. The insignia was redesignated for the 34th Infantry Division effective 10 February 1991, and amended to add a border and provide a symbolism for the design. The patch shape simulates an olla (Mexican water flask) symbolizing the 34th Division’s origin, formation and intensive training site at Camp Cody, New Mexico in Oct 1917. The bull skull also symbolizes the surrounding dry, desert-like area. Black denotes durability, firmness and stability and red is for courage and action.