Posted on Jan 17, 2020
Why is the U.S. Army the only branch that wears the full-color U.S. Flag?
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I've consistently wondered why the U.S. Army is the only branch that wears the full-color U.S. Flag patch on the combat uniform. Marines don't wear anything on their combat uniform, but Navy and Air Force both wear the subdued U.S. Flag patch on theirs. AR 670-1 Ch 19-18 states "All soldiers will wear the full-color U.S. Flag embroidered insignia utility and organizational uniforms, unless deployed or in a field environment. Soldiers will wear the subdued tactical flag insignia while deployed or in a field environment." While I understand the regulation, it seems to me that wearing the subdued flag insignia would make more sense because it matches the uniform pattern. What are your thoughts? PFC (Join to see) SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" LTC Stephen F. CPL Dave Hoover SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SSG (Join to see) Capt Dwayne Conyers CPT Jack Durish SGT Ben Keen CPT (Join to see)
American Flag
Uniforms
Soldiers
DA Pam 670-1
Army Regulations
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 89
Because someone with a lot more rank and a much higher position was visited by the Good Idea Fairie and forgot to bring their bug repellent.
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SSG Edward Tilton
All patches were meant to stand out in the smoke of battle so that Commandes could identify their own troops. I never did ndestand subdued patches. You are a traitor if you tell your captors what unit you are in but he should know that by the patch on you shoulder
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LTJG Sandra Smith
SSG(P) (Join to see) I'd suggest a state hospital, but they closed those all down....
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You answered your own question, it is in the reg. I personally know that when the patch, flag became part of the uniform it was intended to stand out. Pride in service, pride in country, PRIDE.
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LTC Lance Headrick
SSG Jim Schimon - I don't ever remember having seen any Full Color Flags down range. That is why you get issued the IR Flag.
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LTC Lance Headrick
LTC Donald Donahue - Well. I am not an expert in US Code, but we wear IR flags down range and they are not Full Color. As a matter of fact I have never worn a Full Color Flag under field conditions.
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LTC Donald Donahue
Hngaru and Bosnia missions both had the full color, reverse flag. I still have some BDUs with that flag affixed.
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Because we're the pride of the nation and we're proud of that nation - MURICA!!!
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Cpl Gerald Hill
Sgt Richard Milligan - If you were really in the Corps you would know The word Corps has a silent "S" on the end because if you didn't it would sound dead and we all know the Corps is alive and well!
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Sgt Richard Milligan
Cpl Gerald Hill - that is the stupidest reply to a comment I have ever heard- and the S in stupid is not silent. If I was really in the Corp? Idiot.
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To a Marine looking at the Army uniform, it seems as though someone in charge has a mania for hanging stuff on ya'll. There is an Army reg somewhere that says "No part of the uniform shall go unadorned by something." Seriously though, you do have a lot of stuff on all your uniforms; not just the flag. I liked the Marines philosophy of keepin' it simple, keepin' it clean.
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CW3 (Join to see)
The Marines get a lot of things right....in my opinion The uniform is one....in my opinion. The Army's class A is a business suit with trinkets.
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Sgt Dan Catlin
CW3 (Join to see) - I was sad to see the old green dress uniform go. But, I don't make those decisions, so ...
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PO1 (Join to see)
It's similar to a boy scouts uniform, patches here & there & everywhere. I wonder how many hours they spend putting all their Velcro patches on after they wash their uniforms.
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As a Marine... I cannot put forward a reason that is not a joke, and I've apologized enough today for unappreciated jokes.
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MAJ (Join to see)
It's okay. We find ourselves apologizing for our colleagues in the Marine Corps all the time. :-)
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Because the Army has the most soldiers and can affored to lose some by flashing the colors in the field. That just a joke don't jump down my throat the real truth is some pencil pushers in the Pentagone forgot what combat is. May look good to us but it's a bulls eye for any tango that spots the colors in the field.
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CW3 Walter Goerner
Read the reg again. In the field environment or tactical environment, the subdued flag patch is worn. You don't wear the full color one.
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Suspended Profile
CW3 Walter Goerner He is a SPC and obviously hasn’t served in combat yet and lost any brothers/sisters or he wouldn’t have made that “joke.” And if he had served in combat he would have known the subdued flag patch is worn.
MSG Rob Julyan
Apparently you're not much of a reader. It clearly states that when in the field the subdued flag is to be worn.
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(Join to see)
SGT Lori Adams I'm not even active/reserve military and I know that. I'm flabbergasted that someone that's active military doesn't. What doesn't surprise me is that they don't even take the time to read before commenting. That's SOP for 90% of internet civilization, it seems.
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LTC (Join to see)
SPC (Join to see) The question doesn't specify what arm. You are correct that the arm in this photo is the individuals left arm.
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COL Thomas F.
SPC (Join to see) - you are correct. Space Force currently follows the USAF uniform guidelines. Hence, the left arm.
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CW4 Keith Dolliver
1SG Walter Craig - I can't say what was allowed in the 70s, but the only generals in the Army today that are authorized to modify their uniforms as they desire are 5-star Generals, the Chief of Staff of the Army, and former Chiefs of Staff of the Army. Since we don't have 5-star generals currently, that basically leaves one, possibly two generals in the Army that are allowed to change their uniforms.
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CW3 Walter Goerner
SPC (Join to see) - It may be on the left arm but the flag shown is proper flag protocol. When the flag is not attached to a staff, the proper display is with the blue field to the left. Even if the flag patch is on the right arm, it remains the same....the blue field is supposed to be on the left per flag protocol. Even in WWII when it was at times worn to display to allied troops of other nations with similar uniforms to distinguish the nationality, the field was always on the left. The field was reversed by someone back in Washington during the First Gulf War and the reason that was used for reversing the field on the right arm display was an imagined moving forward with an imaginary staff instead of using the proper flag protocol.
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This is a little bit off the question but I’d like to ask why is everyone still wearing combat uniforms every day to the office? Just as one example: watching a general march across Lafayette park next to the President of the United States. Everyone in business suits except for him in combat fatigues. In my opinion he just looked out of place. days later when he made a speech about that night he was in full dress uniform. When the gulf wars started everybody switch to combat uniform as sort of an esprit de corps thing. I think we lost a lot of the military looking sharp image. In my opinion there are many jobs that could be better done in casual uniform or class A rather than combat uniform.
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MSgt Allen Chandler
SPC Andrew Murray - i’m not sure I understand your point. If we were a sharp uniform to work each day isn’t that showing esprit de corps and respect. Pilots don’t carry parachutes when you’re in the office. Navy SEALs don’t wear scuba tanks when you’re in the office. I’m just suggesting without the appropriate uniform for each task that we undertake be what We use.
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LCDR (Join to see)
SPC Andrew Murray - You can also be a Soldier in a service uniform. Now that I'm doing staff duty for a tour, it's hard to see me in my NWUs (a uniform I never liked in the first place). I stick with my khakis.
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SCPO Geary Long
MSgt Allen Chandler - USN retired here. When working in an office environment, we wore dress or modified dress. When on ship, or stationed at a marine base, as I was, we wore Cammie's or flight suits (with the flag on right shoulder, subdued) if we were flying that day. At shore commands, it was dress every day if you were in an staff or instructor role.
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MSgt Allen Chandler
SCPO Geary Long - you To be saying the same thing I am. The uniform should fit the job. If you’re a four-star general or two striped Corporal in your every day job is sitting at a desk doing important work. Then you should be wearing a uniform appropriate for sitting at a desk and doing important work. Yes everyone of us might be called for to go out into combat at any moment but that’s not what you wear the uniform for. Scuba divers don’t wear their suits all day long and jet jockeys don’t wear their helmets all day long.
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Dont know about the rest of the branches, but in the Corps your camo utities are to be worn as if you are in the field at all times. Yes we used to iron them till the new stuff came out.
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Sgt Dan Catlin
LOL, when I was in, compared to the living standards of the other branches we WERE in the field at all times!
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Sgt Dan Catlin
Cpl Marc Bayze - I was a 2841 Ground Radio Repairman, so I had it a bit "easier" on that account. Still, I volunteered for every field operation that came along the whole time I was in. Garrison just didn't suit me much. And being a tech, I still had to stand radio watch and was expected to fix every problem with any comm gear (not just radios), including just setting the right freq or changing a battery, tightening a wire connection, or any other job the operators tended to overlook. Didn't get much sleep on field ops. Still, I typically wasn't sleeping sitting in a hole with nothing but a pancho days at a time. Grunts definitely got my respect. I hit Okinawa as a Lance-cool and volunteered for a position on an M-60, but that didn't last long as they thought they needed radio repairmen more than they needed to teach me to be a grunt (the things you didn't learn in BITS!). My job was to carry the tripod- first in, extend the legs and slam it into place, roll right and take up a firing position. Not sure why I thought that was preferable to fixing radios; I guess the "simplicity" (?). I had a good pair of legs under me, and didn't mind carrying the weight. And I always needed to be active when I was younger. A lifetime ago ...
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