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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Great question. I am from South Carolina and here is my opinion. The flag for me represents a most horrific war that killed and maimed more men than all other wars we fought put together. It was a necessary war and as far as I am concerned the Confederate flag deserves a place because it is a reminder of the suffering of slavery and the men that fought on both sides. The cliché that those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it is apro po here. We must honor our past and the struggles we made to strive for equality and doing the right thing. I don’t have anything against people that don’t like the flag but every one of us veterans and those that serve protect the 1st amendment. Whether you like it or not the flag should be allowed to be displayed.
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Remember that most of the military are southerners! This is something close to their hearts. It doesn’t mean that they are ‘white’ supremacists. They are patriots!
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There are local policies in place that forbid displaying offensive content. Trouble is defining offensive content. The Army wont let you display the Confederate flag in view of others from your quarters. State flags are fine, other country flags are fine. They used to tell us that it was unprofessional behavior and unbecoming of a SM to display a symbol of hate. My own opinions differ but, again, how do you define offensive content?
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It's part of the history of our country. If they aren't shoving it it into my face I say tolerate it. Drive on. If I want to drive around with a Minnesota Vikings flag on my truck there are a large percentage of people from Wisconsin that aren't going to like it either!
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Why would you want to fly the flag of the enemy of the USA? You can make any justification you want, but you can't argue against the fact that it is the flag of the enemy of the United States of America. That's a fact.
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WOW! Captain, I hope your helmet is firmly secured on your head! I can't answer your first two questions, though my gut reaction is that ostentatious display of the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia by an active duty serviceman is distructive of "good order" and the culture sought to be advanced. This might take educating troops, both those who hate that flag and those who "love" it. The issues that stand out to me are that those who display that flag may simply be doing so to express somewhat unfounded beliefs about "freedom" and "independence" and "individuality" and not necessarily expressing a "racial belief". Others may find the flag offensive because they see it as a very racist symbol. (I wonder how they feel - either one of these positions - about being stationed at A.P. Hill, Bragg, Stewart, or any number of installations named for Confederate generals?)
I believe it is well accepted that the Civil War was fought over slavery. But there was a deeper, philosophical cause as well: could the Union, once entered into, be dissolved?
One of the key issues is that the battle flag - which was not the flag of the C.S.A. - became the flag of the KKK. The reaction to the battle flag is sort of like the reaction to the swastika: an innocuous symbol (used by Finland) before adopted by the Nazis.
Which symbolism does the battle flag reflect? A flag followed by brave men - most, I suspect, not owning slaves - fighting for self-determination or a flag making a racial statement? As an old man, an historian, and born-and-bred Northerner, it represents the former rather than the latter. And this is the distinction that education might help troops to understand.
I believe it is well accepted that the Civil War was fought over slavery. But there was a deeper, philosophical cause as well: could the Union, once entered into, be dissolved?
One of the key issues is that the battle flag - which was not the flag of the C.S.A. - became the flag of the KKK. The reaction to the battle flag is sort of like the reaction to the swastika: an innocuous symbol (used by Finland) before adopted by the Nazis.
Which symbolism does the battle flag reflect? A flag followed by brave men - most, I suspect, not owning slaves - fighting for self-determination or a flag making a racial statement? As an old man, an historian, and born-and-bred Northerner, it represents the former rather than the latter. And this is the distinction that education might help troops to understand.
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Much like the origins of the swaztika were peaceful, the Nazis changed the attitude towards the symbol. While I can understand some people’s feelings toward the southern flag as well as the history behind it, I think the symbol has evolved over the last 150 years. Today I see it as representative of regional pride. Much like the Cascadia flag of the NW or the State of Jefferson of Nor Cal & Southern Oregon. Multiple Native American tribes were defeated, yet almost all have tribal flags which they proudly fly.
We can’t cleanse our past by removing it. Some people flying the southern flag is not a sign we are going to have another civil war and institute slavery. To coin a term from the left, our diversity is our strength. This flag is nothing more than another piece of our diversity.
We can’t cleanse our past by removing it. Some people flying the southern flag is not a sign we are going to have another civil war and institute slavery. To coin a term from the left, our diversity is our strength. This flag is nothing more than another piece of our diversity.
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I served on active duty from 98-05. Was stationed at Ft. Eustis. I ended up in the barracks in 02, just before deploying to Kuwait in 03, i am from Georgia, was born at NAS Jax in Jacksonville FL, in my barracks room, i had 2 belt buckles in my room, that celebrated Georgia and Florida being apart of the CSA, and no one said a word. Ive been out of the army since feb 2005. Not sure if there were regs then, or now, but nobody seemed to care. Just my 2 cents
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Ok let’s talk first impressions. Many people today see the military uniform and are then turned off or say they are offended. I say don’t worry so much with your first impressions and always consider your consistent impressions.
Next many southern states have the confederate flag on them so should not display those flags? The entrance to many bases are lined with flags from each state. Should we take those down with the confederate flag so no body is offended?
The confederate flag is a part of our history as a nation, as well as the confederate statues that are being torn down. And as Forrest Gump said, that’s all I got to say about that.
Next many southern states have the confederate flag on them so should not display those flags? The entrance to many bases are lined with flags from each state. Should we take those down with the confederate flag so no body is offended?
The confederate flag is a part of our history as a nation, as well as the confederate statues that are being torn down. And as Forrest Gump said, that’s all I got to say about that.
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