The American Flag Shoulder Patch

One of our younger soldiers was talking with his equally young soldier friends and couldn't find the answer to his question. So, he decided to seek counsel from one of the old pilots. "On our uniform, why does the American Flag face the wrong way?" he asked.

Hmm, thought the old, make that older, pilot to himself, that's a good one. It appears to be backwards to the traditional way that usually has the stars on the left side. But, because he had been around so long and could think on his feet, he came up with an answer. "First of all, the right shoulder of our uniform is reserved for combat patches. Since all of America is at war, the Global War on Terrorism, we wear the American Flag on that shoulder. Second, in battle the flag bearer would carry the Stars and Stripes alongside the Commander for all the unit soldiers to see and follow regardless of the chaos of the battle. As the flag bearer charged forward, the stars would preceed the stripes because that's the way the flag was attached to the flag staff. Our flag charges forward regardless of which way we look at it, right?"

"Makes sense. Thank you," said the soldier.

"You're welcome young grasshopper," said the sage, veteran aviator.

Now you know, too.

In honor of all Veteran's and their supporting families and friends, HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY.


Chief Warrant Officer 3 Chris Pedersen