The Final Defense of the American Flag

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When I was a cadet at New Mexico Military Institute, one of the inspection questions we were required to answer was: What is in the truck (or ball) at the top of the flag pole? First, the truck is the flat piece at the top of a flagpole (outside) or a flagstaff (used for color guards). This has to do …

Half-staff

The American Flag at Half-Staff and Half-Mast

DrillMasterAsk DrillMaster, Commentary, Honor Guard, Instructional 20 Comments

Staff = a flagpole on land. Mast = a flagpole on a ship at sea or on a Marine Corps, Navy, or Coast Guard installation or other maritime location. Halyard = the rope used to raise and lower the flag. Never fly a fringed flag on a stationary or mounted (on a wall or post) flagpole. These flags are only …

Appropriate Flag Retirement

DrillMasterColor Guard/Color Team, Honor Guard, Honor Guard Training, Protocol and Flag 26 Comments

There is a flag fold technique for the first triangle fold called, Cutting the First Stripe. It’s used for an interment flag that has been used for practice and has been folded and refolded so much that it is a bit stretched out, but still good for practice. This technique “cuts” the stripe in half on that first fold, pictured …

When to Drape the Deceased

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My firefighting friends in California had a great question for me. Here are my thoughts. What a tragedy to lose a fellow firefighter, emergency medic, or law enforcement officer, let alone a member of the armed forces. However, it does happen and all too often. Since we know that death comes to us all and that it is just a …

The Misplaced Respect of Stars For Our Troops

DrillMasterCommentary, Honor Guard, Instructional 33 Comments

A while back I noticed pictures of scouts (male and female) cutting the canton (blue field) from American flags readying them for disposal. I then noticed pictures of stars cut from American flags that were neatly packaged in very small zip-close bags along with a typed note to our country’s veterans that reads: “I am part of our American flag …

When to Raise and Lower the American Flag

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I received these questions just a short time ago. 1. At the beginning of the work day (duty day) when raising the U.S. flag in conjunction with a state flag which one is flown first? I believe it to be the U.S. flag. Answer: Per the Flag Code, the American flag is always raised first. 2. When lowering the flags …

Flag Pole Height Chart and Maritime Flag Arrangements

DrillMasterHonor Guard Training, Instructional 3 Comments

For our purposes, flagpole means a permanent pole in the ground and flagstaff is one that is carried. For flagpoles a general rule of thumb is the height of the flag should be 1/3 or 1/5 the height of the flagpole (the pole should be three or five times the height of the flag). Here is an example. For a twenty-five …