Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced on July 17 that all DOD installations would effectively ban divisive symbols, including the Confederate battle flag.
This news follows changes already made in the Marine Corps, Navy and on all installations in Japan and Korea.
DOD Drafts New Confederate Flag Policy
The new policy specifies which flags may be flown on DOD properties worldwide. The Confederate battle flag is not listed.
Flags displays are regulated on all military installations for both military and civilian personnel. They include workplaces and offices, public spaces and common access areas.
As of Friday, flags allowed to be flown on US military installations include: the US flag; POW/MIA flag; state flags; and flags of our allies. While the new policy does not specifically ban Confederate flags or other divisive flags, it does not include them on the list of approved symbols.
“I am committed to fielding the most powerful military force the world has known by strengthening the bonds of our most valuable resource — our people. That is why we honor the American flag, which is the principal flag we are authorized and encouraged to display,” Esper wrote in the memo, according to reporting by CNN and Politico.
In certain circumstances displays of non-authorized flags will still be allowed under several exemptions, including “museum exhibits, state-issued license plates, grave sites, memorial markers, monuments, educational displays, historical displays, or works of art, where the nature of the display or depiction cannot reasonably be viewed as endorsement of the flag by the Department of Defense.”
“The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols,” wrote Esper.
According to Politico, Esper had also recently come under pressure from top defense leadership to enact this ban. Each branch of service remains free to enact their own ban on additional flags and symbols.
USMC Leads Charge for Change in DOD
Marines have proven to be the tip of the spear when it comes to banning displays of the Confederate battle flag.
In early June, USMC Commandant General David Berger issued a memo that required all Confederate flag images and items from all installation throughout the Corps.
The US Navy has also enacted a similar ban, with the Army and Air Force keeping such actions under consideration. US forces in Japan and Korea have also enacted similar bans on all installations within their sphere of influence.
New Policy Skirts Trump’s Opposition
Esper’s new policy is a revision from an earlier policy that named the Confederate flag outright as banned from all bases. Some see the changes as creating language that is more palatable to President Donald Trump.
Trump, as of July 1, promised to veto any defense spending bill should it include language banning Confederate symbols. He issued his opinion via Twitter.
The release of the DOD’s policy effectively circumvents Trump’s ability to veto the Defense Spending Authorization Bill. The president has vowed to veto any proposal that included renaming of Army bases to remove Confederate leaders.
Bases which had been considered for renaming include Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, among others.
Trump has also previously stated that flying the Confederate flag is a freedom of speech issue.
House Armed Services Committee Adds Language to NDAA Removing Confederate Symbols
In early July, the House Armed Services Committee agreed to include language removing such displays from all DOD properties as part of the defense spending authorization.
Iraq War veteran Representative Anthony Brown (D-MD) introduced the amendment to the bill which would “prohibit the public display of the Confederate battle flag at all Department of Defense property.”
The proposed language, according to NPR, has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Due to Trump’s public opposition to the renaming of military bases, the $704.6 billion defense spending authorization hangs in the balance. The bill includes funds for a 3% pay raise for troops.
Senator Chuck Shumer (D-NY) expects the bill to pass in Congress even with a Trump veto.
“Let me make a prediction: First, that provision will not change in this bill as it moves through the House and Senate. Second, let me predict, President Trump will not veto a bill that contains pay raises for our troops and crucial support for our military,” Schumer said on July 1.
With the recent news about the DOD’s effective Confederate flag ban, there has not been word about possible changes to the House Armed Services Committee’s proposals.
I am a Retired US Air Force Chief Master Sergeant (E-9) with over 30-years Active Duty Service. The display of the Confederate Battle Flag is not prohibited by Defense Secretary Esper’s memo, “SUBJECT: Public Display or Depiction of Flags in the Department of Defense”, dated 16 July 2020.
Oh it certainly spells out what is acceptable and apparently everyone thinks that by spelling out what is acceptable; then, what is not allowed is therefore unacceptable, specifically the Confederate Battle Flag, not true…
Let’s take the US Flag, when it is folded, it takes the shape of a triangle (often said like a “tricorne hat” as was worn during the Revolutionary War…), where only the blue field and stars are visible.
Now, the loophole, the first bullet of acceptable flags as spelled out in the memo, “Flags of U.S. States and Territories and the District of Columbia,” clearly allows the display of the State Flag of Mississippi, with the Confederate Battle Flag on it.
Since it is clearly acceptable to display a folded US Flag, what rules apply to say one cannot fold the Mississippi State Flag so only the confederate flag is prominently display or for that matter, display the entire state flag?
Some will say that when Mississippi changes its state flag that will end it, but not true, there are no rules to prevent the display “vintage” flags, so even after Mississippi does away with the Confederate Battle Flag on its state flag, it is still a permitted flag.
And you need to consider the state flags of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Georgia, which all have the presence of a saltire, or St. Andrew’s Cross. That’s the diagonal “X” that defines the Confederate Battle Flag. All of these state flags have general shapes that call to mind the Confederacy.
So, while so many are standing around patting themselves on the back for a job well done, do not be surprised to see a new symbol rise up to replace the old…
To pretend that the intent of blocking efforts to rename miniltary installations are related to which flags can be flown relies entirely on mind reading capabilities. Does the author have that capability? If so, my mind reading capabilities equal that of whomever penned this …. and I think the reason for not allowing name changes solely rests on US history, specifically – that of the armed forces. Most people are ignorant of history already, perhaps we should focus on what is not being taught in our incredibly expensive K-12 educational system, and not what flags are allowed to be flown.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA…..OUR FLAGS ARE OUR HISTORY! SHAME ON THE YOU ALL. OUR WAR VETERENS DESERVE MORE. THE NEW MILITAY OF TODAY ARE A BUNCH OF WUSSES.
Sad to erase our history, you are showing yourself as the evil and against our country! I think you should worry about serving the troops instead of sticking yourselves into loser ideas! Trump2020!
Colin Powell, former Chairman of the JCS and Sec. of State under the George W Bush administration, has voiced his opinion that the US Flag, as we serve it today, is the only flag which should be flown on military bases.
I agree with the banning of the Confederate flag on our installations.
However renaming the bases is not without merit. Fort Bragg has been associated with the home of the 82 Airborne Division, and the US Special Forces. I completed my BCT there in 1969, before I served in Vietnam. There never was a link either racially and/or historically promoting the legacy of a Confederate general at that facility. The name Fort Bragg became it’s own identity and loyal to all US Army proud traditions. Throughout two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Shield/ Strom, OEF and OIF to the current day. Fort Bragg has served our country well. In my mind, that Fort represents the best of the US Army traditions : equality and justice. Do not let cancel culture undermine all of our shared history. The Legacy of these Forts represent their place in chronicles recent US Army historical legacy, and are not associated at all with the defeat of a wrongful Confederacy, almost two centuries ago.
Shameful thatt the Army and Air Force have not jumped on the bandwagon and joined their fellow forces. The Conf derate Flag is an imaginary creation born from hate.
Shameful that the Army and Air Force have not jumped on the bandwagon and joined their fellow forces. The Confederate Flag is an imaginary creation born from hate.