tunic had the triangular national cap badge on the collar and US-style brass lapel insignia: crossed rifles – infantry; crossed cavalry sabres and tank – armour; crossed cannons – artillery; castle – engineers; crossed signal flags and torch – signals; Caduceus – medical department, whilst pilot-qualified officers of the Air Force had the winged propeller badge on the lapels. When the Guardia was formed in the mid-1920s, its personnel wore on the left sleeve of their light khaki shirts a simple diamond-shaped blue patch with the white letters "GN", later replaced by a more elaborate system of service and unit insignia. On the olive green or camouflage combat uniforms, officers' wore cloth subdued or black metal pin-on rank insignia on the right collar, branch insignia on the left, and NCOs' yellow chevrons on an olive green background. A subdued nametape was worn over the right breast pocket, the 'Guardia' national title on the left, and full-colour or subdued unit patches and shoulder titles on both sleeves. Members of the 1st Armored Battalion wore at the sides of their OR-201 helmets a blue triangular-shaped decal bearing the unit's black crest inserted on a white disc at the center. For parade in field dress branch-colour neck scarfs were worn, being light blue for infantry and EEBI "Commandos", black for armour, red for artillery, yellow for engineers and signals, and apple green for the GN General Staff. Weapons and equipment Throughout its existence, the Nicaraguan National Guard received military assistance mainly from the United States, who provided since the late 1920s everything that the Guardia used, from uniforms and boots to rifles, artillery and vehicles, mostly under the US Military Assistance Program (MAP). However, starting in the early 1950s, the Somozas made consistent efforts to diversify their sources of military hardware and supplies in a hope to reduce their dependence from the Americans. The majority of its weaponry until the mid-1970s consisted of U.S.-made surplus 'hand-me-downs' from both world wars, Korea and Vietnam, partially supplemented by more modern equipment either donated or sold by Israel, Spain, Argentina, Morocco, and South Africa, particularly after U.S. aid was cut in 1978. Other countries such as Italy, West Germany, Portugal, El Salvador, Paraguay, Sweden, South Korea, and the Philippines were also involved in providing some form of covert aid or acted as brokers in secret arms deals. Small arms The first standard issue weapon of the