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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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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Fun fact: Every confederate soldier that fought was granted United States Veteran status. Honoring our ancestors who fought for the south should not be divisive, especially if you know your history.
Many of those commanders of the Confederates were prominent members of the United States Armed forces before the war, and many of their doctrines and tactics are revered to this day.
I personaly knew a Marine whose entire hood of his truck was a Confederate Battle flag. His roommate and best friend was a dark green Marine who borrowed his truck on a regular basis lol.
Bottom line, if someone wants to display their heritage in a tasteful manner, then let them do so. The Germans were Nazis in WWII, but if I had a nickle for every german flag licences plate I saw on base I'd have at least 10 bucks by now
Many of those commanders of the Confederates were prominent members of the United States Armed forces before the war, and many of their doctrines and tactics are revered to this day.
I personaly knew a Marine whose entire hood of his truck was a Confederate Battle flag. His roommate and best friend was a dark green Marine who borrowed his truck on a regular basis lol.
Bottom line, if someone wants to display their heritage in a tasteful manner, then let them do so. The Germans were Nazis in WWII, but if I had a nickle for every german flag licences plate I saw on base I'd have at least 10 bucks by now
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I think this is a freedom of speech issue. Of which we did or do not have on base. Such as wearing a cross on a necklace that can be seen while in uniform. Having said that, you can wear the cross in civilian attire on base.
We have to level the playing field for everyone. If the US flag can be burned, football players can kneel during the anthem, people can walk around DC wearing fake genitalia on their head, and all sorts of other things that we see and hear, then this is just one of them. Freedom doesn’t mean freedom from being offended/offensive. Having said that, respect and dignity must be the standard — especially in uniform. And frankly understanding the other perspective. We have to separate radical racists from heritage-oriented people. Not everyone is a racist who displays the confederate flag. And no, I don’t display it or even want to. I’m just trying to protect our right to freedom of speech. We have to fight to keep everyone’s right, not just those we agree with.
We have to level the playing field for everyone. If the US flag can be burned, football players can kneel during the anthem, people can walk around DC wearing fake genitalia on their head, and all sorts of other things that we see and hear, then this is just one of them. Freedom doesn’t mean freedom from being offended/offensive. Having said that, respect and dignity must be the standard — especially in uniform. And frankly understanding the other perspective. We have to separate radical racists from heritage-oriented people. Not everyone is a racist who displays the confederate flag. And no, I don’t display it or even want to. I’m just trying to protect our right to freedom of speech. We have to fight to keep everyone’s right, not just those we agree with.
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I have no feelings for the flag. It does not bother me except when it is used with a hammer & sickle or a swastika. Those symbols piss me off and makes me want to pound somebody into the dirt. My Dad fought against the swastika of Nizasim and my dad and I both fought against the hammer & sickle of communism. The confederate flag is a part of our history and does not represent slavery. And, the stars and bars was a battle flag and not the southern States main flag. I have a problem with people making mountains out of molehills.....
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