A Headquarters and Headquarters Company, or HHC, is the company that houses a battalion’s headquarters staff along with the soldiers who support it. Every Army battalion and higher headquarters has one, and the HHC is often the element that orders the unit’s challenge coins.
What Is an HHC?
An HHC is a company inside a battalion, but it is not like the other companies in that battalion.
The name carries “headquarters” twice for a reason, and it is the clearest way to understand what the unit is. The first refers to the battalion headquarters itself: the commander, the command sergeant major, the executive officer and the staff sections that run the battalion. Personnel, intelligence, operations, logistics and signal, usually referred to by their S numbers. The second refers to the company that houses and supports all of that: the soldiers who feed, supply, maintain, treat, drive and communicate for the headquarters, and who need a company structure of their own to belong to.
So an HHC is two things in one organization. A staff, and the company that keeps the staff functioning.
The difference from a line company is worth stating plainly. A line company in a battalion does the battalion’s mission. An HHC enables it. That means an HHC’s soldiers hold a much wider spread of specialties than a line company’s, often twenty or more different jobs inside one company, and they work for different bosses across the staff sections while belonging to the same commander and first sergeant.
It also means an HHC has a distinct identity from the battalion it serves, which is why it usually ends up with its own coin.
Why HHCs Order Challenge Coins
There are two answers, and the second one is the commercially important one.
The HHC orders coins for itself. It is a company with its own commander, first sergeant, guidon and history, and its soldiers identify with it rather than only with the battalion. Change of command, first sergeant coins, commander coins, arrivals and departures, and end-of-tour recognition all generate orders.
The HHC also orders coins for the whole battalion. This is the part nobody writes about. The administrative, supply and budget functions sit inside the HHC, which means when the battalion commander decides the unit needs coins, the task lands with someone in the HHC. The S4 shop, the supply sergeant or the executive officer places the order, handles the artwork approval, chases the timeline and distributes the coins.
If you are reading this because a coin order has landed on your desk, that is the situation, and it is a common one. The person ordering is usually not the person the coin is for, and they are usually doing it alongside their actual job.
Two things follow that are worth knowing. Artwork revisions are free and unlimited, so there is no cost to going back and forth until the commander is happy with it. And the proof stage exists precisely so you are not the one who has to guess at what the design should look like.
You can see comparable work on our staff and headquarters element coins and across our Army unit coins.
Coins for CBRN and Chemical Corps Units
The Chemical Corps is a distinct Army branch with its own insignia, its own traditions and its own culture, and almost nothing in this market is written for it.
CBRN units range from chemical companies and battalions through to CBRNE elements, decontamination units and reconnaissance formations. They tend to have strong unit identities, partly because the branch is small enough that people know each other across it, and partly because the work sets them apart from the units they support.
The coin on this page was made for the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 110th Chemical Battalion (Technical Escort), known as the Iron Dragons, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. The battalion is part of the 48th Chemical Brigade under 20th CBRNE Command.
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is about an hour from our shop in Port Orchard, which is worth mentioning because a good deal of the work in this gallery has come from commands around Puget Sound.
What Goes on a Unit Motto Coin?
Mottos are one of the most requested elements on a custom coin, and they often carry more of a unit’s identity than the official crest does.
A crest is approved through a process and follows heraldic rules. A motto, particularly an unofficial one, comes from inside the unit and means something specific to the people in it. Both can sit on the same coin, and the motto is usually the part people read out loud when they hand one over.
Mottos are normally engraved rather than printed or enamelled, and there is a practical reason for it as well as an aesthetic one. Engraved text sits in the metal, so it does not wear off the way a painted line does on a coin that gets handled, and it holds legibility at small sizes where enamel would need a wall around every letter.
Placement is usually the reverse, arcing around the insignia or running straight across beneath it. On this coin the motto “Feed the Beast” is engraved on the back alongside the unit insignia, and it does exactly what a good motto does: it needs no explanation to anyone in the unit and gives everyone else something to ask about.
About This HHC Hydra Coin
The HHC wanted the coin built around the unit’s hydra, a many-headed creature, with the motto and insignia on the reverse.
Two things made the front face difficult, and neither is obvious from a photograph.
The sculpting. A many-headed creature is a hard subject in relief because the heads have to occupy different depths to read as separate from one another. Sculpt them all at the same height and they merge into a single mass. The work is in establishing a depth hierarchy that survives striking, where the difference between one head sitting in front of another is a fraction of a millimetre.
The texture. The creature’s skin is textured rather than left smooth, and that decision is the one that makes the coin work. A smooth relief reads as a shape. A textured one reads as a thing. Adding surface texture at that scale without losing the underlying form is more difficult than adding more detail, because the texture has to sit under the sculpt rather than compete with it.
Carved detail runs around the edges, framing the sculpt rather than decorating it.
For more on illustrated and cartoon mascot work, see our unit mascot designs, and for more on relief depth, our sculpted challenge coins.
Design a Coin for Your HHC or Battalion
Artwork is free and revisions are unlimited, which matters when the design has to go past a commander and a sergeant major before anyone commits. You receive a digital proof and nothing goes into production until it is approved.
Orders start at 50 coins, shipping within the continental United States is included, and most orders are complete in 45 to 50 days after artwork approval. Rush production is available if you are working to a change of command or a farewell date.
Embleholics is veteran-owned, based in Port Orchard, Washington, and registered in SAM as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business under UEI F3AGRUW5RT53, which matters if the order runs through a government purchasing process. You can see more custom Army challenge coins in the gallery, or request a quote and hear back within 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an HHC?
An HHC is a Headquarters and Headquarters Company: the company that houses a battalion’s headquarters staff along with the soldiers who support it. Every Army battalion and higher headquarters has one.
What does HHC stand for?
HHC stands for Headquarters and Headquarters Company. The word appears twice because the unit is both the battalion headquarters itself and the company that houses and supports that headquarters.
How is an HHC different from a line company?
A line company carries out the battalion’s mission. An HHC enables it. HHC soldiers hold a much wider range of specialties, often twenty or more different jobs in one company, and work across the staff sections.
Do HHCs order coins for the whole battalion?
Frequently, yes. The administrative, supply and budget functions sit inside the HHC, so battalion coin orders usually land with someone there, even when the coin is for the whole unit.
What is a CBRN unit?
A CBRN unit is an Army Chemical Corps formation dealing with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards. They range from chemical companies and battalions to CBRNE elements, decontamination units and reconnaissance formations.
What goes on a headquarters company challenge coin?
Unit insignia, the company designation, mascots or unit devices, mottos, and command group identifiers. HHC coins often carry a distinct design from the battalion’s own coin, since the company has its own identity.
Can a unit motto be engraved on a coin?
Yes, and engraving is usually the right choice. Engraved text sits in the metal so it does not wear off with handling, and it stays legible at smaller sizes than enamelled lettering does.
What is the minimum order?
The minimum order on coins is 50. Most orders are complete in 45 to 50 days after artwork approval, and rush production is available if you are working to a change of command or farewell date.
More Army Projects
