I have seen many shots of our military recently (haven’t we all?) and I have a question about the American flag patch on the sleeve of the BDUs.
It appears to be backwards. Why?
That’s how the flag would look if it were being carried in on a standard during a charge. It gives the impression of being flown in the breeze. Only the military is allowed to wear it that way.
It appears backwards on the right sleeve and forewards on the left sleeve, to give the appearance of a single flag with the hoist side toward the front of the soldier’s body. Same reason the flag on the right side of the tail of an airplane is backwards – to give the same effect as, say, a ship with a flag flying opposite the direction of travel.
While it may be true that other government departments are forbidden from displaying the flag in that manner, there is no law that would prevent a private citizen from wearing a flag patch any way he wants to.
Jesus, sorry Brian, I know that search should be my friend, I wasn’t thinking.
Thanks to freido and Casey too.
It would be a breach of flag etiquette, same as displaying a tattered flag, letting it tough the ground, flying it backwards, etc.
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Tough is Pennsylvanian for “touch”. We have nutty accents.
Yes, it is a breach of flag etiquette, but etiquette does not carry the force of law. My point was that your post made it sound as if it would be a crime for a person to display a flag in an incorrect manner, which it clearly is not.
Sorry for the confusion. Perhaps a better way to phrase it would have been to say “Traditionally, only the military wears it that way.” However, non-military uniforms, such as those worn by security guards, police officers, and letter carriers (when flag patches are worn on the right sleeve) tend to display the flag in the “normal” way.