What does the CAC crest mean?
The Coat of Arms for the Combined Arms Center was originally approved for the General Service Schools in 1925. It was re-designated to the Command and General Staff College in 1948 and extended to the U. S. Army Combined Arms Center in 1974. At its heart is a shield, representing the military nature of the organization, with a blue chevron on a white field. The term chevron comes from the French for rafter and was originally granted to those who built or maintained a castle or fort. By derivation it evolved to signify military defense or protection. The three lamps are symbolic of intellectual life, study or learning and such lamps are sometimes called the lamp of knowledge. On top of the shield is an esquire’s helmet with red mantling. Mantling was the cloth wrapped around the helmet for protection against the elements or to dampen the force of blows. The red color of the mantling completes a reference to the national colors begun in the white and blue of the shield. On the crest of t
