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Is the flag 'backwards' on soldiers' sleeves?

Mar- 3-2004 » Filed Under: General Military

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By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, February 28, 2004

ARLINGTON, Va. — Why do American soldiers wear the U.S. flag insignia "backwards" on the right shoulder of their utility uniforms, with the canton (the rectangle with the stars) on an observer's right?

It's a question that soldiers hear frequently as they travel through civilian airports, or talk to members of other services.

And it does look "wrong," because U.S. federal code calls for the canton to always be positioned to the left.

The soldiers aren't wrong, however, and neither are their tailors, Lt. Col. Stanley Heath, an Army spokesman, explained in a Friday telephone interview.


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