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> updated 22/10/09
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Insignia
All
Uniform
Right Side
U.S. Flag
Why Is the BSA's U.S. Flag Emblem Backwards?
A LOT of Scouts and Scouters (as well as military people!) have asked me:
why is the flag displayed with the union to the back of the right shoulder
(I have added this to my Frequently Asked Questions area on my website.)
Your question is a frequently-asked question sent to me; for we not only have Americans
involved in the BSA in Puerto Rico, but also on the American Virgin Islands, in American Samoa,
and 113 countries and principalities around the world, either part of the Transatlantic, Aloha,
or Far East Councils or part of the BSA Direct Service (Council) program:
"Can a scouter, motu proprio, use the flag from a State instead of the American flag without
authorization from the local council, BSA Executives or the BSA Board?"
The answer is the same in all cases: no, they cannot. Here is why.
Originally, the U.S. Flag emblem was permitted on the field uniform to ID Scouts and Scouters who
participated in international or world Jamboree events. It was not enough to have the strip which
states "Boy Scouts of America", but under international policy, the emblem representing the nation
of the Scouting association is worn when participating in an international or world Scouting event
or Jamboree.
After the BSA hosted the World Jamboree in 1967, many Scouts and Scouters kept those U.S. Flag emblems
on their uniform and jac-shirt sleeves. Their friends wanted to wear it also, and so they went down and
purchased the flag emblems and worn them also. The BSA responded in 1969 by allowing ALL Scouts and Scouters
who desire to do so to wear the US flag emblem on the shoulder (or because by then, the new Cub Scouting
program was coming on board, to wear the US flag emblem above the "Cubs-BSA" or "Cub Scouts - BSA" strip on
the traditional blue uniform shirts). Books and manuals were revised starting in 1966 with the "optional"
wear of the US flag emblem.
Somewhere around the end of the 80s (I can never get an exact date when this occured -- it is STILL an "overdue
item" on my whiteboard back in Minnesota), the BSA's Supply Division (with no guidance from the BSA's National
Executive Board) started authorizing the manufacture of Scout shirts with the US flag emblem already sewn on.
This presented a problem for the BSA, for the national policy has always been that the flag emblem is OPTIONAL
and not required to be worn. A letter to the field (to local Councils) in the early part of 1991 reaffirmed that
the US Flag emblem is an OPTIONAL piece of uniforming...and also established that ONLY the US Flag emblem and
ONLY those emblem manufactured for wear on the BSA's official uniforms (and in the "wall" facing direction)
would be worn.
The BSA finally had to say this in writing because Scouters and some Scouts attending the
1981 National Scout Jamboree were wearing "union jacks", "confederate flags", "greenpeace" and "black pride"
flags in the place where the US Flag emblem was to be worn; and other Scouters, good-intentioned they are, were
aquiring and wearing larger US Flag emblems featuring the flag worn "in reverse" (or "as flying") on their
uniform shirts.
In 1995, the BSA's National Executive Board finally addressed the flag problem by producing a statement which was
published in SCOUTING magazine in the early part of 96 but has not been reprinted since:
"The wearing of the U.S. flag emblem is OPTIONAL on the part of our Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorers, and adult
volunteers. Local Councils are not to mandate wearing of the emblem; however the Supply Division will continue to
provide uniform shirts with the emblem pre-sewn as a matter of courtesy for the wearer. If the Scout, Explorer or
adult chooses not to wear the flag emblem, (my emphasis) *no other flag emblem, insignia, nor device* (end my emphasis)
will be worn in that position in its place. If worn, only the U.S. flag emblem authorized by the Supply Division will
be worn. Some members wearing the field uniform of the BSA are not American citizens; and certain religious faiths and
observances may prevent some members from wearing the emblem of the United States of America."
Why hasn't this made its way to the BSA's Insignia (Control) Guide? To be honest, I don't know why. There's a LOT of things
which the BSA has chosen not to place within its uniform guide, and this is a biggie. I've asked the BSA's Supply Group
(which oversees the Insignia folks) to place the NEB statement in the booklet, if for no other reason than to advise Scouts
and Scouters of those faiths and religious groups that they do NOT have to wear the flag emblem...I get "it'll be placed in
a future edition of the Guide" and nothing more...
That's the whole background on the U.S. Flag emblem, Edgardo. I've had Scouters and Scouts from Germany and the Netherlands
asking the same question, because they are a part of an international unit and like the BSA acknowledges, not all BSA members
are American citizens and don't feel good about wearing the US flag emblem and would much rather wear their own country's emblem.
A suggestion which I made earlier was to wear the flag emblem of Puerto Rico centered on the right pocket of the field uniform or
the jac-shirt...as that location is an individual's decision to wear.
And thank you for asking me!!
Here's the bottom line and additional background information:
The Boy Scouts of America makes wearing of the U.S. Flag insignia an OPTIONAL ITEM. It has been this way since 1957,
when the U.S. flag emblem was first added as a piece of BSA insignia in advance of the World Jamboree in Idaho in the early 60s.
The Boy Scouts of America's National Uniform and Insignia Committee established HOW and WHERE the U.S. Flag insignia would
be worn IF a Scout or Scouter chose to wear it on the official uniforms. It is worn on ALL UNIFORMS as the top-most piece of
insignia on the RIGHT SHOULDER and no other location on an official BSA uniform, to include the red or blue jac-shirt and their
lighter weight jackets. The Committee determined that since the U.S. Code does NOT specifically address the direction the flag should be
worn on an article of clothing, that the flag would be worn as if you are looking at that flag from afar, with the stars to the rear.
The Boy Scouts of America has NO PLANS to alter that flag emblem; and Scouts and Scouters should wear the U.S. Flag emblem as
displayed in the BSA's Insignia (Control) Guide.
With regard to "who's right," since the U.S. Code does not place in writing how our national flag would be worn on a uniform,
both the military and the BSA (and other organizations) are absolutely correct. Each organization sets their own uniforming policies and it
is NOT dictated by "congress" nor by anyone else other than that organization. Note that while the BSA is chartered through an act of
Congress, that the BSA is free to provide their own policies concerning uniform and insignia wear without Congress' input (and this is a
GOOD THING)!!
Finally, Scouts and Scouters should be proud to wear our nation's flag on the uniform, but not all Scouts and Scouters can do this.
So let's not be forcing kids and adults to do something which is against their moral or religious upbringing, okay?? There are several religious
organizations and faiths who do NOT allow their members to wear anything which symbolizes an alliegence toward. These faiths and organizations
believe that "God" or "Allah" is more important than "country" -- and this is EXACTLY WHY the BSA does NOT and WILL NOT make the wearing of the
U.S. Flag emblem MANDATORY.
Hope that all of these points helps you and your Scouts in coming to grips with "why do the military wear the flag "one way" and we in Scouting
wear the flag "the other way".
(and for the record, I'm wearing my military desert battle uniform with the American flag *backwards* as prescribed by military policy!)
Settummanque!
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