Broadening the Divide

In a move certain to deepen the ideological schism by which 21st Century Americans are divided, the Pentagon has ordered U.S. service-members to stop displaying large U.S. flags at major events.

Belying long-standing traditions of patriotic flag displays staged by U.S. Army and Navy parachute teams come descending like Olympian deities into sporting events, and the unfurling of magnificent, football-field sized iterations of Old Glory, a 10 February 2023 memo from the U.S. Defense Department’s public affairs office has prohibited service-members, henceforth, from using oversized U.S. flags during event displays.

The memo sets forth that instances in which service members carry the U.S. flag horizontally or land it on the ground after a parachute jump are no longer acceptable.

DOD brass have collectively expressed concerns over proper flag protocol and alignment with Title 4 of the United States Code—known more commonly as the U.S. Flag Code. Subject code, which is referenced in DOD regulations, comprises guidance germane to the proper display of the United States flag and includes regulations pertaining to its size, placement, and handling. Consistent with federal regulators’ chronic propensity for pedantry and overstatement of the obvious, the code also states the U.S. flag ought be treated with dignity and respect.

U.S. Defense Department spokeswoman Commander Nicole Schwegman declared: “In recent years, some sporting events have asked military members to hold large, horizontal flags during events, and some military units have carried them in parades. While many, including service members, find these events moving and patriotic, according to the code, the flag should never touch the ground or be carried flat or horizontally.“

The DOD memo also bans the flying of flags by military parachutists insomuch as the Flag Code proclaims “the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or merchandise.”

The antecedent stipulation’s sole exception is the covering of servicemen’s caskets during funerary honors—provided the flag is not lowered into the grave or permitted to touch ground.

The 10 February DOD memo—which prohibits uniformed service members from participating directly in the “unfurling, holding, and/or carrying of giant horizontal U.S. flags” and bars U.S. military jump teams from incorporating the U.S. flag in their demonstrations if it “cannot be caught reliably and handled respectfully by ground personnel—has occasioned similar outrage, drawing harsh criticism from patriotic groups, law-enforcement departments, and conservative lawmakers.

The DOD memo’s 23 February posting on the popular Amn/NCO/SNCO Facebook page drew criticism from numerous commenters, one of whom opined:  “If following flag code is the reasoning for this stupidity, the objects used for these events aren't technically flags, they're banners.”

In 2020, the DOD issued a policy banning the display of unauthorized flags on military installations, buildings, and vehicles. The policy failed to specify which flags, precisely, were approved, thereby enabling—and, in fact, codifying—arbitrary interpretation and enforcement.

FMI: www.defense.gov