A call "To Arms, To Arms" continues to echo in the annals of American history from its very beginning when Paul Revere sounded this now all too familiar statement, "The British Are Coming!", one of the many voices heard signaling the start of the American Revolution.

Now heard in the battle cry of our Armed Services from our United States Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy and National Guard, it signifies to our soldiers to always be ready and always on the lookout for the enemy or engagement that is forthcoming. The National Guard even to this day has the iconic American Minuteman dignified in their Seal which shows our roots as a citizen army and a society could grab a rifle and be prepared at an instant ready to take on any enemy. These men were our true Minutemen and the ones that coined the term.

With May and its arrival, the citizens of the United States have the opportunity to honor the men and women in uniform whom protect our values here at home and preserve the peace from afar often at great sacrifice to themselves and their friends and family.

This is a time to unfurl the American flag, display it with pride, and show others it is important to acknowledge what this country stands for and its soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen who keep it safe. Military t-shirts and apparel are worn to support the units, bring morale and a sense of pride when applicable. Unit commanders find that military t-shirts and apparel to be a motivating force among soldiers wishing to display with pride their name, unit number, motto, flag, branch, MOS, weapons, skeleton, background, icon or any additional detail they feel will bring the feeling of belonging and unit pride.

The US Navy also has this same sense of dedication of duty when it is displayed on a military shirt or naval t-shirt that exemplifies their mission, their ship, its mission and dedication to its duty. VBSS teams stand for visit, board, search and seizure represents a close group of Navy sailors who mission is to board and search potentially hostile naval vessels looking for weapons stashes, drugs, and illegal trafficking. These sailors are a tight community and when it comes to navy t-shirts they want the best and expect the best. Some of the designs created for them when it comes to military design often are depicted with skulls, port holes, knives, covers, torpedoes, Jolly Roger and pirate designs. Military custom design is very important to them and these men that serve aboard US Navy ships performing this role.

As a sailor, Terry Weikilla bought several Naval Tees and was impressed with their workmanship. Later he decided to begin his collection and purchased several more military t-shirts for his personal use.

There are many excellent companies when you compare military design, colors and messages. One travels from simple 1 and 2 color tonal designs with reverse color space and simple generalized graphic which amount to military splatter on a t-shirt. Find a design concept on Google pics, throw some color behind and wham bam! A military graphic. Not so interesting if you are looking for a truly exceptional design that conveys the right message. This is truly GENERIC.

When you travel to the next level in military design you experience a few more colors, a few more color choices with the apparel, some additional options for sizes that typically range as large a 2XL military shirt size. The graphics get a little better and instead of the typical chop chop design you now have the beginning of a military design that is is based on original artwork. A step above the GENERIC you have now arrived at SPECIFIC.

A cut above the SPECIFIC one comes to experience where few seldom tread and this is the creation of original military artwork. hand drawn, elaborate design, full color representations with meaning and purpose. This is where the true artists dwell and those that take their varied backgrounds, coupled with their love and support of our military and develop designs that are truly exceptional. Quality design work, multi color thematic military design, vibrant text and font usage and a design whose elements combine to complete the entire image. This is the UNIQUE and few companies offering military t-shirts today often seldom reach.

UNIQUE design is the culmination of multiple color designs, original artwork with purpose and message of design whether specific to a military unit or in the message it conveys. Excellent line art as a foundation of the design is equally important as well as the symmetry of design bringing design elements close together. At this level customization also becomes an option and allows the wearer to add additional text to their design making it unique. The ability for an an individual to participate in the design process is part of what makes a military design UNIQUE.

However, to be truly INNOVATIVE in military design a company needs to take things one step further. They allow their customer to command the design and participate in its development and this is what is truly INNOVATIVE in terms of military design. Giving orders to a design in the military vernacular and watching those changes occur in real time is INNOVATIVE and is not done by those that even achieve UNIQUE design level creation. Selecting from a variety of options whether different weapon types, different military covers, selecting from additional options such as warpaint or more commonly referred to as camouflage, changing backgrounds and icons, or perhaps even changing what is being worn by a military image creates the INNOVATION in military art and design.

When you look for a company that displays all of these military design credentials, like a pyramid that gets narrower as you reach its top, are the available companies that produce INNOVATIVE military unit design at this level.

When creating a military design one takes into consideration the audience whether its the 101st Airborne, 75th Rangers, a naval ship of the line, special forces unit or even a specific MOS, Rate or Air force Specialty. The nature of the unit, its mission, the weapons, theater of operations, history, a slogan or perhaps a unique detail or mascot are often discussed and included in determining the best way for a design to be developed.

Each unit has characteristics all their own and each design needs to reflect that look and feel that makes it special and iconic. Morale is heightened when a military design achieves its goal and creates the right nuances associated with that unit.

In evaluating a military design at a given website a number of factors come into play beginning with the available options for a given design. These help to determine how specific that design can become in association with that unit. A list of these military options include the following:

1. Is the design unique? Does it cater to the unit, the branch, the rank, mission, function, ship, squadron, MOS or naval rate.

2. Are all branches represented? Does each branch have the same weight an importance as other branches? Do designs exist for Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and Coast Guard?

3. Can you customize the left chest design on the front of the apparel to help maximize the effectiveness of the details and color of the design displayed on the back? This is all too important function. having a great design on the left chest helps to set the tone for an overall effective military t-shirt or clothing item. When that design for the left chest can also be further customized by selecting from a large array of military design options it gets even better.

4. Do design options exist for the shoulder? Does military art exist for the left and right shoulder of a given clothing style? f the answer is yes then you are heading for a truly unique military design experience that few offer in this day of one dimensional design.

5. Does custom sleeve art exist for your military design selection? Do hundreds of options exist and secondly do these designs maintain consistency and a military message that keeps all design elements intact and working together? When this occurs the integrity of a military t-shirt is maintained.

6. Can custom text be added to a military design? When this option is made available it takes military design and art on clothing to a new level. With unique slogan, anniversaries, dates, unit names, call signs and other important details a military t-shirt can go from specific to truly unique.

7. Take a given design and now expand on it to include options for both men and women's sizes, military short and long sleeve t-shirts, hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, military tank-tops, sleeveless tees, sweatpants and shorts you now have the medium in which o deliver a quality design. The wide variety of military clothing enhances the message of the custom military unit design.

8. What color military shirt is best? It comes down to the design. Many military units like the traditional sand, tan and OD green but other units like to experience a design on a variety of additional colors like red, Navy, Gold, Black, White, Royal, Hunter Green, brown or even pink.

9. How large should a military design be? Military shirts can and often should be offered in sizes as large as 5XL.

10. What about youth military sizes? This is critical when working with military units, the families of soldiers and their children. Families want to share in the spirit and support of their loved ones in the Armed Services and when smaller youth sizes are available it enhances the morale of the troops overseas and makes for a far bigger impact with regard to the design created.

So, when looking to evaluate a military design one has many things to research and learn about before deciding. The many options above help in determining how a design can go from General to Specific to Unique and then when truly exceptional is found, Innovative.

What is truly amazing is the variety and the amazing talents of this myriad group of artists and their different styles ranging from skull art, to more precise designs on an almost architectural level with designs that detail a weapon or some form of tank but then shown with its different components so the inter workings of the tank or weapon could be seen. Functionality design in the case of this military design style.

Skull art is also a prevalent means of creating modern military art that military troops in the field often associate with. What began as far back as the Vietnam War and possibly even earlier has become a more acceptable design preference when military units seek out artists for custom unit art creation.

Another often accepted medium of art is a subdued or often coined term "distressed" look whereby the artist has rendered a design with an almost worn and weathered look that creates a sense of age and warlike conditions. Something akin to a shirt or design that has been run over, dragged through the mud, washed, hung out to dry and then dragged again.

Finally, another style and one that has been created for many years is eye-popping graphics with color upon color washed upon the garment. Multiple color design has been the most popular stylistic approach to military design for decades. Artists like to use this concept when they design for the military because it allows them to get exposure to a marketplace that has often not seen enhanced graphics of this type aside from a very basic text oriented concept with just words displayed.

With the development of our military's attitude towards great military design it is easy to see why so many creative styles and differences have sprung up. What is also interesting to note is the variety of design that has become available from a more conservative single color narrative concept to a design canvassed with 12-13 colors or more that can grab your attention.

How do you know a good design from a bad one? Simple. Personal taste. There is no right or wrong when it comes to selecting a design that works for you or even one that is custom designed. Review the design, look it over, see if the message it conveys speaks to you and makes sense and above all make sure you enjoy it. Military design can be an interesting process when it comes to looking and reviewing them and finding the ones that stand apart and cater to your needs.