# The Flag Patch on Military Uniforms **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518 "2008-01-22T17:02:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/1 "2008-01-22T17:02:39Z")
Something I’ve been wondering–why is the American flag patch backwards on military fatigues? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/2 "2008-01-22T17:10:48Z")
[Here you go](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=428954&highlight=flag+backwards) ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/3 "2008-01-22T17:12:12Z")
It’s not. I’ve read where it’s supposed to look like it’s flowing backward, away from a soldier as he’s running. > [@](#): > > Army Regulation 670-1, “Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia,” updated most recently September 5, 2003, addresses explicitly the proper and lawful placement of the U.S. flag patch on the Army uniform. > > The regulation states that when authorized for application to the proper uniform the American flag patch is to be worn, right or left shoulder, so that “the star field faces forward, or to the flag’s own right. When worn in this manner, the flag is facing to the observer’s right, and gives the effect of the flag flying in the breeze as the wearer moves forward. The appropriate replica for the right shoulder sleeve is identified as the ‘reverse side flag’.” > **[USFlag.org: A website dedicated to the Flag of the United States of America -...](https://www.chamberofcommerce.org/usflag/flagpatch.html)** > > Find answers to common and uncommon questions about the United States Flag and its evolution. Information on Flag etiquette and the U.S. Flag Code. Patriotic poems, hymns, and essays. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/4 "2008-01-22T17:12:13Z")
[American Flag Patches - Why Are Some Backwards?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=428954) [Why is US flag printed in reverse on US airplanes?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=403451) [Why is the flag reversed on uniforms?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=395790) [why is one US flag patch backwards on mil uniforms?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363398) [Backward flags on US soldiers?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=324511) [Backwards flags on troops shoulders-why?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=281030) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/5 "2008-01-22T17:15:13Z")
Heh: 🙂 [American Flag Patches - Why Are Some Backwards?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=428954) [Why is the flag reversed on uniforms?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=395790) [why is one US flag patch backwards on mil uniforms?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=363398) [Backwards flags on troops shoulders-why?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=281030) [Ranger backward flag patches](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=241359) [Backwards flag on US uniforms](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=175734) On preview: dang it! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/6 "2008-01-22T22:09:17Z")
Note that the same rule applies for a flag on the side of a self-propelled (not wind-propelled) vehicle. Basically, it’s the same way that a real cloth flag would fly, were it attached to a pole on the moving thing. Note also that this means that a flag on the left shoulder of a uniform, or on the left side of a vehicle, would appear normal. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/7 "2008-01-23T07:46:04Z")
These customs are true not just for the US flag but for nearly all flags that aren’t vertically symmetrical. (I believe flags that have writing on them, like the Saudi Arabian flag, are never displayed “backwards”.) For that matter, it’s not just about flags - the US Postal Service emblem with the eagle has also traditionally been painted “backwards” on one side of postal vehicles, so it would look like the eagle was always flying forwards. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-flag-patch-on-military-uniforms/434518/8 "2008-01-23T14:57:50Z")
[QUOTE=want2know] Something I’ve been wondering–why is the American flag patch backwards on military fatigues? [/QUOTE] The real answer to your question is that there is no such thing as a “backwards” American flag. When you are walking past a flag on a flagpole do you wonder why it’s backward on one side and not on the other?