As on the Great Seal, the eagle has a U.S. shield superimposed on its chest and is holding an olive branch and bundle of arrows in its talons.

However, in simplification of the Great Seal image, the insignia lacks the scroll in the eagle's mouth and the rosette above its head.

Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, colonial legislatures would grant commissions to men to raise a regiment and serve as its colonel.

The first insignia for the rank of colonel consisted of gold epaulettes worn on the blue uniform of the Continental Army.

During the Civil War, the Confederate army maintained a unique insignia for colonel, which comprised three yellow stars worn on the collar of a uniform.

After the end of the Civil War, the rank of colonel again became rare as the forces of the United States Army downsized and became extremely small.

However, many U.S. colonels were appointed in the volunteers during the Spanish–American War, prominent among them Theodore Roosevelt and David Grant Colson.

The Military Promotion System was revised and standardized for all the services in 1980 as a result of passage of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act.

[5] In the modern armed forces, the colonel's eagle is worn facing forward with head and beak pointing towards the wearer's front.

Officers in pay grade O-6 visiting or on temporary assignment to other installations are also accorded "Distinguished Visitor" (DV) status for lodging and other appropriate protocol honors.

The AWC resident program includes participation by officers from various other branches of the U.S. armed forces and Allied nations.

Marine colonels may graduate from the Marine Corps War College or, like all other branches, may receive credit via non-resident attendance at another installation, via correspondence, or will be graduates of an equivalent senior JPME program sponsored by the National Defense University or one of the other U.S. military services.