Feelings on displaying the Confederate flag on your POV or person while on a military installation?

It's doesn't make it right to use both, but you rarely see the KKK using the American flag to drive home there point. All I am saying is the flag has been used to intimadte and stike fear in a race of people simply because of their color. I served in the south for many years and saw numerous bumper stickers using the rebel flag with sayings that were degrading. Would a person chose to fly the Nazi flag and claim heritage?

And now you use your rank and position to intimidate those who carry it.

Congratulations.

MSG Breaker wrote "When a group of hate adopts your flag as their own it looses it's significance as your heritage."

So all someone has to do to force you to stop displaying your flag is to adopt it as their own and say nasty things? How does this make sense?

I'm sure the aboriginal Americans (aka American "Indians") would likely see the American Flag as offensive and a symbol of enslavement and death. They would probably say the same thing about US Cavalry Crossed Sabers and red and white Cav guidons. Should we never use those symbols again?

Perceptions are the product of the viewer.

The story of how we named our bases is great reading.

Don't write that too loudly; someone will think it's a good idea.

CPL Williams, I do believe that you need a class in Heraldry 101, before trying to discuss the contradictions of the symbols of which we speak.

Why? They served honorably for their people and country, which, according to our federal government, were still US States in rebellion. Let's end all of this PC nonsense.

SFC Thomas, you are incorrect. See my post in this thread. The flag you are accustomed to seeing is actually a version of the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, it was never the flag of the CSA.

CPL Williams, Why are you double posting?

I tend to stay away from this subject unless I am speaking to people in person. But to the ignorance that the cpl. And a few others Are showing I'm going to chime in. First the Confederate soldier fought for the constitution the Union did not. It is the only American Army that ever did defend the constitution. Those men,some being my ancestors saw their homeland being invaded and choose to defend it. The 3 invasions into the North there was no ransacking of homes molesting citizens or butchering and burning of livestock and crops. Sherman wasn't the only one guilty of war crimes every Yankee that crossed the Potomac is guilty and I also have ancestors who betrayed their native Virgina and wore the blue. Nintey percent of the men who fought did not own slaves and would not have fought for a rich man to keep them. Lincoln was told by the US Supreme Court that invasion was against the constitution and he signed a warrant for the arrest of the Chief Justice Taney in which he recincind that order upon advice from Stanton to keep Maryland from leaving the Union. He placed under arrest all of Maryland's state government and sent them to Point Lookout and the state was occupied by federal troops. The same was attempted in Missouri and Kentucky but their governors escaped to Richmond.that is the reason there 13 stars in the Battle Flag and National Flag. Lincoln tried to bring the south back in the union by offering her to keep her slaves. The last peace talks were at City Point Va. Feb 1865. Each time he was told they were not. Fighting to keep slaves but to be left alone and govern themselves. Blacks took up arm to fight the Yankee invader and not just a few. Yankee officers and enlisted discribe seeing whole units led by black men at 1st manassas. The first abolisnist killed was a Massachusetts officer taking down a confederate flag off of a hotel in Alexandria Va in March of 1861. He was killed by a black man. The confederate army was the first integrated American army as well. When TJ Stonewall Jackson's Corp, to which some of my kin where in the Stonewall Bde. marched through Fredrick Md. A Yankee doctor described seeing hundreds of black men carrying weapons of all sorts and wearing uniforms. There was a standing order that black confederate soldiers who were captured and brought to the POW camp in Chicago were to be executed. This was even stated on the history channel. Fredrick Douglas told Lincoln on several occasions to enlist black men because they were already fighting for the South. Lincoln had no intentions of freeing slaves until the Trent affair. The Trent was a brittish passenger ship, there was 3 confederate representatives on board in the carribian. A Yankee gunboat fired a shot across her bow forcing her to stop. The Yankees boarded her and arrested the 3 men.the British government demanded their release or Britton would invade from canada. There 10,000 British troops waiting for orders when Lincoln decided he better release those 3 men. His only way to keep Europe out of the war after that was to sign the Emancapation proclamation. The flag stands for men who fought with honor as does the US flag. I had family on both sides and they faced on another on the field of battle and when they went home they helped one another. My grandmother has told me stories of these men who were still alive when she was a child. I hate that the Battle flag is used by racist groups but so is the US flag. Should we ban her because of ignorant people abusing it. Truth be told the US flag that we love flew over slavery until 1866 when the 13th admendment was passed. Don't believe what your taught in school research it yourself before you run your mouth and show how little you really know on our history. And for your information the confederate army commissioned a woman to major, several Indian and Tejono's ( that's Texas Mexicans) to general officers. There were even some Chinese in the 21st NC troops. Whereas the Yankee invader was full of foreigners from Germany Italy Irland just to name a few. I reenacted both sides for many years. And I have had the privilege of meeting descendants of black confederate veterans. I have seen the the pictures of them in uniform and at CV reunions. Several of their descendants are members of the SCV and Daughters of the Cofederacy. I am a proud descendent of men who served on both sides to insult their memory is to insult me for their blood runs threw me!!!

It is a flag of heritage for folks from the South. Just like the X flags, and flags for UK, Germany, etc. that many servicemembers display that shows their ancestry. We fought against those flags, too, but those are acceptable.

I think he can. I also think if someone finds it offensive they can get with their commander or IG also.

I'll repost a comment I gave to MAJ Petrarca above - a Post Commander could ban the display of the Confederate flag if the display of it was having a disruptive impact to good order and discipline. Just like any of the policies that "aren't covered in the reg", it would have to have a military purpose (good order and discipline) and not violate any laws (there aren't any laws saying you have the right to fly the flag. The 1st amendment does give the basis for that, but there have been numerous laws passed preventing its display, sale, etc. that have been upheld as constitutional).

Completely agree with LTC (Join to see) above though. I'd run it past my legal folks to be absolutely sure (of course, they often don't agree with each other, so what to do...)

COL Randall C. I can understand the point about it being disruptive and having an impact on good order and discipline. The part I don't quite understand, however, is why the presumption always seems to be that the flag and its supporters are the problem, rather than someone taking issue with the flag.

It seems that we, as the leaders in the service, are too quick to give in to the heckler's veto.

LCDR (Join to see), completely agree. There are individuals in society today that go out of their way to be offended and then loudly let everyone know how offended they are.

In this specific case, the commander needs to see exactly how it is affecting the good order and discipline of the installation or organization. If we're talking about a few individuals who are making it their right to be offended, then they can keep their right and continue to be offended. If instead we're talking about something that really is causing significant issues with a large population of individuals, then that's when the ban would be prudent.

Another of those CAN vs SHOULD things. Do you have the right to fly that flag? Yes. Is it prudent to restrict those rights in certain situations? Yes. Determining what those situations are is what we pay commanders for (assuming someone doesn't self-censor).

In 1967 in Japan, we had wool ball caps with the units on the front and I had an American and the Stars and Bars. Why? Because I was a Rebel not from the South but just because I was a rebel. I should have had the flag of County Cork where my ancestors came from because that is the Rebel County in Ireland. Had nothing to do with race.

well since we have decided to censor personal property we might as well add all those stickers that objectify females

Since the 70's times have changed . What was once not an issue, is a major point of confrontation. Rebel Flags do not matter to me at all.

Those who choose to allow others to control personal emotional responses, need to realize how they're being manipulated. (psyops) Times they are a Changing.

Days of ARMY Green, NAVY Blue, ( As well as USMC, USAF, USCG) have degraded our unified fighting machine to a state of divide and conquer by special interests. Diversity and inclusion REMAINS discrimination By Any Other Name, in a continuing effort to handicap our forces and our Nation.

In the end, we should understand as fighting force we MUST be able to trust is our fellow warfighters That I have your back, and you have mine.. Not a Blue Falcon

We encounter activist who are professionally offended. The claim offense in power plays for Profit or concession.
Civil Rights laws allow for looser pays plaintiffs legal fees and costs, even in case of settlement out of court. A legal form of extortion.
Add the Politics, and this degrades the trust in one another that must be maintained if we are to remain an effective fighting force.

In the end our Mission is to BE the effective fighting force on planet Earth. We must dismiss that bovine droppings that impede the mission, In My Humble opinion

SSG Check, the confederacy no longer exists, therefore it can longer be considered an enemy of the state.