There is a misunderstanding that keeps showing up in morning colors and evening colors ceremonies: people see a flag being raised or lowered and folded, and an immediately thought is that the Flag Detail is a color guard, the flag fold is exactly like a funeral honors team, or that the ceremony can take place at a better position for all to see.
That is the problem.
The Video
In the link above, you can see a short video of USAF Training Instructors performing their version of the Retreat ceremony. While the TIs are sharp, there are issues with the procedures in the video.
Before we get into the list of issues, let’s look at a key quote from AFPAM 34-1203 (bold emphasis mine):
7.28.1. When practical, the persons lowering the flag should be an NCO and three service
members for the all- purpose flag.7.27.10. The flag security detail folds the flag. The senior Airman or Guardian of the detail
remains at attention while the flag is being folded unless he or she is needed to control the flag.
What we get from this is quote is
- This situation did not call for any more flag handlers to be present, it was practical to have just three.
- The commander of the Flag Detail (lead Airman) is in a supervisory role only, unless required to help – the flag size of weather conditions did not require the lead Airman to step in.
- One Commander
- One Catcher
- Two Halyard Tenders
- Catcher Plus one Tender could fold easily and practically – no one else needs to be involved.
The size of the flag determines the number of handlers.
The handlers exist for control, not performance.
Here are the issue with what the TIs are doing:
- The TI’s form center stage instead of at the flagpole.
- The flag is marched away from the flagpole for folding – it is folded right there at the pole, the point of the ceremony.
- As you can see in the still image at the top of the page, the flag was not secured by the Catcher before moving to fold it.
- Two “pops” to horizontal – one, we perform one.
- Using lightning speed to move the flag and then slowly moving – that is inappropriate dramatic effect.
- Two extra supporters move in to hold the flag – while using several handlers to fold a flag is perfectly acceptable, it depends on the size of the flag. This flag is probably 4’x6’/5’x9’6″ and two can easily fold it.
- The entire team looks down while folding the flag – there is not need. We fold at Attention and look with our eyes, not our head.
- All four are involved in the tucking at the end of the folding sequence – again, no need.
Back to the Explanation
A flag detail is not a color guard. It is not a funeral honors element. It is not a stage performance group. A flag detail has a specific job: raise the flag, lower the flag, keep it from touching anything beneath it, detach it from the halyards, secure the halyards, fold the flag, and safeguard it until stowed.
And that work happens at the flagpole/mast.
Not twenty steps away.
Not “center stage.”
Not wherever the audience has the best camera angle.
At the flagpole.
The flagpole or mast is not just scenery. It is the point of the ceremony. That is where the flag is raised. That is where the flag is lowered. That is where the halyards are handled. That is where the flag is detached, controlled, and folded. That is where the duty exists.
Once we move the lowered flag away from the pole so the folding can happen in front of the audience, we have changed the nature of the ceremony. We have taken the Flag Detail duty and turned it into a performance.
That is where the misconceptions lie.
People see the flag marched away from the pole. They see the fold sequence placed in a prominent position.
But that is not retreat.
Retreat is not a funeral ceremony. It is not a casket flag presentation. It is not a color guard presentation. It is not a patriotic showpiece built for audience reaction. Retreat is a ceremony for paying respect to the flag and, in some contexts, marking the end of the official duty day. Reveille and morning colors likewise have their own purpose. The flag detail supports that ceremony by doing the flagstaff work correctly.
The detail does not become the ceremony.
Folding the Flag Does Not Make It Funeral Honors
Another major misunderstanding is the fold itself. Yes, the flag is folded after it is lowered. That does not make it a pallbearer funeral flag fold.
A flag lowered at evening colors is folded because it has been lowered and must be secured, transported, and stored. That is Flag Detail procedure. A casket flag fold belongs to military funeral honors and, when appropriate, presentation to the next of kin. Those are different contexts.
The final folded shape may look familiar, but the meaning is not the same. At retreat, the flag is folded because the flagstaff duty is complete. At a funeral, the casket flag is folded because honors are being rendered for the deceased.
Same national flag. Different duty. Different context. Different meaning. The duty defines the method.
“Ceremoniously” Does Not Mean Theatrically
The services use words like smartly, slowly, ceremoniously, and with dignity when describing the raising and lowering of the flag. Those words matter.
But “ceremoniously” does not mean theatrically.
It does not mean adding dramatic pauses. It does not mean moving the fold to a display area. It does not mean borrowing funeral honors movements. It does not mean adding color guard procedures. It does not mean making the flag detail more visible so the audience can better appreciate the moment.
The flag is raised smartly and lowered ceremoniously. That means controlled, timed, respectful, and correct. It does not mean staged for emotional effect.
There is a difference between dignity and drama.
The Flag Is Not Lowered to Taps
This also needs to be said clearly: the flag is not lowered to Taps. There is a misconception out there about this, just ask Jari Villanueva, America’s Taps Bugler.
Taps has its own place. It is solemn, meaningful, and powerful. That is exactly why people want to use it. But that emotional pull is not a reason to insert it into a ceremony where it does not belong.
For morning and evening colors, the flag is raised or lowered to the prescribed music for that ceremony. Depending on the service and context, that may involve the Star-Spangled banner or the bugle calls, To the Colors or Retreat.
Lowering the flag to Taps imports funeral or memorial emotion into a Flag Detail ceremony. That is another example of confusing respect with invention and good intentions do not create correct procedure.
Flag Size Determines the Number of Handlers
The number of personnel involved in folding the flag should be based on control, not appearance.
For a smaller flag, the catcher can gather the flag into the arms and maintain full control until it is completely detached from the halyard. Once the halyard is secured, one other member can assist in folding the flag. There is no need for a large group just to make the action look more ceremonial.
For larger flags, the situation changes. If the flag cannot be adequately gathered into one person’s arms, the catcher takes the lower fly-end corner and moves the flag to the waiting handlers. Those handlers receive and pass the flag edge along until the flag is fully controlled, flat, and ready to fold. Then the handlers fold the flag together.
That is not spectacle. That is function. More people are used only when more people are needed to control the flag properly.
The Flag Fold Is Utilitarian, Not Performative
The flag fold after retreat is supposed to be utilitarian. That does not mean casual, sloppy, or unimportant. It means the fold has a purpose: to secure the flag after it has been lowered. That is all.
The flag is folded so it can be controlled, transported, stored, safeguarded, or reported secured. The fold is not performed for the audience. It is not a separate ceremony inside the ceremony. It is not a funeral honors presentation. It is not an emotional centerpiece added because people want the moment to feel more meaningful. The meaning is already there.
The flag has been honored through the prescribed ceremony, the music, the salute, the lowering, and the proper handling at the flagpole. Once the flag is lowered and detached, the fold completes the duty. It does not need to be moved away from the pole, slowed down for dramatic effect, or expanded with extra people just to make it look more impressive.
That is where many ceremonies go wrong. The fold becomes the focus instead of the flagstaff duty. Once that happens, people start treating the flag detail like a color guard or a funeral honors team, and the whole context shifts.
A proper flag fold after retreat is disciplined, controlled, and respectful, but it is still practical. It secures the flag. That is the point.
The flag detail is not there to perform the fold. The flag detail is there to complete the flagstaff duty.
“I’m OK With It” Is Not a Standard
One of the worst defenses of bad ceremony is, “I’m OK with it.” Opinions are not a standard.
The question is not whether someone liked it. The question is not whether it looked patriotic. The question is not whether the crowd reacted well. The question is not whether the family members had a good camera angle.
The question is whether the detail performed the assigned duty correctly.
Did the detail work at the flagpole?
Was the flag raised/lowered properly?
Was the lowering coordinated with the prescribed music?
Was the flag kept from touching anything beneath it?
Was it detached, folded, and secured properly?
Were unrelated movements imported from color guard, funeral honors, or exhibition drill?
That is how the ceremony should be evaluated, not by “I’m OK with it.”
The Standard Is Restraint
A proper Flag Detail is not boring. It is disciplined. The team:
Arrives at the flagpole.
Performs the duty.
Controls the flag.
Secures the halyards.
Folds the flag when required.
Safeguards or reports the flag secured.
Departs.
That is enough.
The national flag does not need embellishment to be honored. In fact, embellishment is often where the problems begin. The more we add, the more we blur the lines between flagstaff duty, color guard procedure, funeral honors, and performance.
The flag detail supports the ceremony. It does not become the ceremony.
I wrote ICS DCS 12-800, The Flag Detail: Purpose, Function, Location, and Limits of Authority, to clarify this issue in detail and provide a better foundation for instructors, commanders, honor guard leaders, and anyone responsible for morning or evening colors.