Carrying the flag flat

DoD-Mandated Disrespect to American Flag

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For years the Pentagon has paid Big Sportsball to have troops carry a giant flag on a football field as a recruiting tool even though it directly breaks the law, and the standard set forth in an Army Regulation.

Parachutist with Flag
Banned! Parachutist with Flag

Ignored, then Banned

On Feb. 10, 2023, the Pentagon banned uniformed service members from “unfurling, holding, and/or carrying of giant horizontal U.S. flags” and military parachute teams from carrying the flag since it constantly hit the ground at each jump. Before that, the Pentagon paid truckloads of money to Big Sportsball to aid with recruiting turning a blind eye to the published standards.

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 changes that. Recruiting is at an extreme low so that must mean the DoD must break the rules, right? Recruiting is historically low whenever a democrat is in the office of the President.

The Flag is Not Carried Flat

Not because I say so, but because it is public law and a regulation.

  • The Flag Code: The Flag Code was enacted into law August 21, 1959. It was written by referencing Departments of the Army and Navy manuals of the time. It applies to the civilian population of the USA and not the military since the military has its own guidance.

“The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally, but always aloft and free.”

4 US Code § 7, Position and manner of display, paragraph (c)

Notice the quote says “Never” and “Always”.

Don’t let the idiocy of the Supreme Court bring you to the strange conclusion that “It’s not a law anymore”. Title 4 is an enforceable law, it’s just that the SCOTUS decided to make disrespect to the flag a mere matter of freedom of speech, purposefully ignoring the law.

Flag Carried Flat by CAP
Flag Carried Flat by CAP
  • Military Manuals:
    • DoD Instruction 5410.10 Volume 4, Community Outreach Activities: Ceremonial, Musical, and Aerial Event Support; MCO 5060.20, Drill and Ceremponies; MCO 10520.3, Flag Manual; and AFI 34-1201/90-1201, Protocol, all have nothing to say about carrying the flag flat. This is because manuals state the guidelines for how to do things, not an endless list of what not to do. Having said that, the Army made it very clear for everyone decades ago and still has that standard.
    • AR 840-10, Flags, Guidons, Streamers, Tabards, and Automobile and Aircraft Plates, Chapter 2, paragraph 2-4. Position and manner of display.

“The flag should never be carried flat or horizontally but always aloft and free.”

AR 840-10, Chapter 2, paragraph 2-4. Position and manner of display.

Notice this quote also says “Never” and “Always”.

What is an Army Regulation (AR)? How is it different from a manual, circular, or pamphlet?

This regulation is signed by the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff. Those signatures come with authority of several public laws “The authorities for this regulation are 4 USC 7, 10 USC 7285, 10 USC 7565, 10 USC 7714, 18 USC 706, and 36 USC 300106.”. It’s tantamount to a military law that will be followed.

The Argument for Allowing It

Gadsden Flag is a Banner
Gadsden Flag is a Banner
  • “It’s not a flag”: Weak argument! Here’s why.
    • “It’s a banner.” No, it’s not. A banner is a type of flag used specifically for communication. The Gadsden flag (below) is actually a banner.
    • To understand the difference between the terms flag, color, banner, and standard, read the article A Flag is a Flag – the DrillMaster Study.
    • Every other argument is weak because the Flag Code specifically states:

The words “flag, standard, colors, or ensign”, as used herein, shall include any flag, standard, colors, ensign, or any picture or representation of either, or of any part or parts of either, made of any substance or represented on any substance, of any size evidently purporting to be either of said flag, standard, colors, or ensign of the United States of America or a picture or a representation of either, upon which shall be shown the colors, the stars and the stripes, in any number of either thereof, or of any part or parts of either, by which the average person seeing the same without deliberation may believe the same to represent the flag, colors, standard, or ensign of the United States of America.

4 U.S. Code § 3 (emphasis mine)
Wife receiving her dead husband flag draped casket
Wife receiving her dead husband flag draped casket

Why Get on This Soap Box?

Because standards matter, DoD and Big Sportsball. We created the standards at one time for a very good reason and we don’t pick and choose when, where, and how they are implemented. What needs to happen next is for the DoD to actually follow AR 840-10 and all the Sportsball organizations and flag makers to start follow the Flag Code.

Respect to the flag matters because it mattered to this woman’s husband. She was eventually presented that flag, just as thousands of other family members have been around the country. That flag means something to the recipients, it’s something they hold dear in their hearts but now we get to violate published standards just because recruiting is at an all-time low.

Recruiting is low for many reasons and several I could rattle off right now but don’t want to get political. It does begin with leadership, however, leadership we have been lacking for over a decade. Putting a gigantic flag on a sportsball field is not going to solve the problem.

Flag Makers are in a Catch-22

Big Sportsball orders a giant flag from Flag Company ABC because Big Sportsball  knows that if they play the patriotism card, it will work every time and keep viewers glued to the TV. If Flag Company ABC doesn’t make the enormous flag because it’s going to be used to violate the Flag Code, Big Sportsball just goes to Flag Company XYZ who is more than ready to make the flag and get paid thousands. In any economy, turning down business can be detrimental, I understand that, and what makes this situation worse is that a company overseas will do anything for a contract at half the price, but you get a substandard product. Still, if it looks good on TV: people wave that giant flag, hearts swell, and a tear comes to the eye while some singer belts out the Star-Spangled Banner hitting every note possible toward the last few notes, and everything is good.

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