Posted on Aug 22, 2014
Feelings on displaying the Confederate flag on your POV or person while on a military installation?
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Recently, I had a long and heated discussion with a fellow veteran about this issue. I don't know for sure whether a branch-specific reg or a DoD-wide reg exists that prohibits/allows personnel on a military installation to display the Confederate flag on their personal vehicle or on their person (e.g. a belt buckle). Maybe this is a base-specific policy and left to the judgment of the installation commander. Display of the Confederate flag is a divisive issue and people often feel really strongly one way or the other. But today, it is still a relevant topic and touches on other military leadership/discipline areas, including the actions of one member deeply offending another member -- regardless of whether said action is legal/authorized. That can create huge problems in a military unit, and this happened in a unit I personally served in. So, below are my questions for the RallyPoint community about this issue.
Please try to keep comments professional (don't attack one another) and explain your thoughts as best you can.
Questions:
(1) How do you feel about the Confederate flag being displayed on the vehicle/person of a service member if he/she is ON post? How does your opinion change if the member is OFF post?
(2) What does the Confederate flag symbolize to you personally? What do you think it can symbolize to other people around you who may perceive it differently?
(3) If you have personally experienced a military-related situation where a symbol/flag caused someone to be offended, what happened and what did you/would you have done as the leader?
I look fwd to everyone's thoughts on this. Personally, I have some strong feelings about this issue, though I don't want to bias people's answers upfront. Please be as honest as possible.
Tag: SSG Emily Williams Col (Join to see) 1SG Steven Stankovich SSG Scott Williams 1LT Sandy Annala CPT (Join to see) SSG V. Michelle Woods MSG Carl Cunningham
Please try to keep comments professional (don't attack one another) and explain your thoughts as best you can.
Questions:
(1) How do you feel about the Confederate flag being displayed on the vehicle/person of a service member if he/she is ON post? How does your opinion change if the member is OFF post?
(2) What does the Confederate flag symbolize to you personally? What do you think it can symbolize to other people around you who may perceive it differently?
(3) If you have personally experienced a military-related situation where a symbol/flag caused someone to be offended, what happened and what did you/would you have done as the leader?
I look fwd to everyone's thoughts on this. Personally, I have some strong feelings about this issue, though I don't want to bias people's answers upfront. Please be as honest as possible.
Tag: SSG Emily Williams Col (Join to see) 1SG Steven Stankovich SSG Scott Williams 1LT Sandy Annala CPT (Join to see) SSG V. Michelle Woods MSG Carl Cunningham
Regulation
Policy
Respect
Confederate Flag
Edited 10 y ago
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 326
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Do you know that Confederate veterans were declared by law to be U.S. veterans?
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I really don't care one way or the other about the Confederate flag. However Congress passed an act that made all those that died fighting for that flag U.S. military war dead. That pretty much sums it up for me. I respect that flag as I would any other military flag.
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The US Congress several years ago enacted a law that stated that all personnel that served in the Confederate forces are US Veterans eligible for all rights and privileges of the US military forces. So, it seems to me that includes the it flag. Secondly, the Civil War was fought over states rights, not slavery. Yes, Pres Lincoln did emancipate the slaves, but again, the war was about the rights of the several States to secede from the union.
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Not sure about the other services but I know in the Navy it is prohibited on post. What it means to you personally means something off base, just not on base. The issue become how much your off base behavior is known on base. My experience over 30 years is that nothing that happens off duty stays hidden for long. Eventually it will create a situation "contrary to good order and discipline".
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I have ancestors who fought for the Confederacy, one is well studied for his artillery tactics Maj John Pelham and my G-Great grandfather who was captured during the siege of Petersburg and took to Point Lookout. I use the flag to honor their sacrifices.
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Just remember, the American flag flew over those same slave states prior to the Civil War.
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