Brotherhood of Steel iconography

The iconography of the Brotherhood of Steel is built around its emblem: Gears, sword and wing, used widely to decorate their facilities, tag armor and equipment, and as part of markers identifying their territory. The gears represent their engineering knowledge, the sword is their will to defend themselves, the wings represent the uplifting hope that the acquisition of lost technology represents for mankind's salvation following the devastation of the Great War, and the circle represents the fraternal unity that makes the organization a true brotherhood.

Another interpretation is that the Brotherhood's symbol represents each of the organization's different orders. The sword represents the Paladins, the wings represent the Elders (the "wings" control the movement of the sword), the large gear represents the Knights, and the two smaller gears represent the Scribes and the Initiates, whose services keep the Knights supplied with the information and the manpower required to get their jobs done.

Insignia evolution
The Brotherhood insignia has evolved throughout the years and while it has retained its general appearance, the number of cogs on the gears, their facing, and basic color scheme have varied between iterations. The standard is nine cogs on each wheel, at times facing interchangeably, as both left- and right-sided have been in use at the same time, specifically within the Appalachian chapter and First Expeditionary Force in 2102 and 2103, as well as the Mojave chapter in 2281.

Flag evolution
The Brotherhood has also used a variety of flags. Most simply feature the Brotherhood insignia over a flat-color field. One, featuring a white Brotherhood insignia over a set of 13 red and white stripes, was flown by the Lyons' Brotherhood of Steel in 2277.