Supporters of Confederate statues and symbols display a Confederate flag underneath an American flag during the Lee-Jackson Day state holiday in Lexington, Virginia, USA, January 17, 2020.
Jonathan Drake | Reuters
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon revealed on Friday what is effectively a ban on public displays of the Confederate flag at U.S. military installations.
The policy change may provoke the wrath of President Donald Trump, who said last month that his administration “would not even consider” removing the Confederate symbols.
The carefully worded policy approved by Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Thursday does not specifically mention the Confederate battle flag. Instead, he clarifies that the American flag is the “primary flag that we are empowered and encouraged to display.”
The note also lists the authorized flags that can be displayed. The Confederate flag has no name.
“The flags we fly must be in accordance with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treat all our people with dignity and respect, and reject the divisive symbols,” Esper wrote in a memorandum on Friday explaining the policy change. “With this change in policy, we will further improve morale, cohesion, and force readiness in defense of our great nation,” the statement added.
A push to remove Confederate symbols has gained renewed strength after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes.
Esper recently told lawmakers that a process was underway to assess the possible removal of Confederate symbols from U.S. military installations.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper is seen during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on ‘Department of Defense Authorities and Roles Related to Civil Law Enforcement’ in Washington, DC, July 9, 2020.
Greg Nash | Pool via Reuters
“There is an ongoing process, whereby we affirm what types of flags are authorized at United States military bases,” Esper told the House Armed Services Committee when asked about the possible removal of the flag from Confederate battle, as well as other associated symbols of the Confederacy.
When asked, along with Esper, whether the U.S. Army bases named in honor of the Confederate generals harmed morale or unit cohesion in the military, the nation’s highest-ranking officer offered a personal history.
“For those young soldiers who go to a base, Fort Hood or Fort Bragg or wherever, named after a Confederate general, they may be reminded that that general fought for a slavery institution that may have enslaved one of his ancestors. ” Chief Executive General Mark Milley explained.
“I had a sergeant when I was a young officer who really told me that at Fort Bragg. He said he was going to work every day at a base representing a guy who had enslaved his grandparents,” he added.
“The American Civil War was fought, and it was an act of rebellion and an act of treason at the time against the Union, against the stars and stripes, and against the United States Constitution,” said Milley.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, testifies during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on ‘Department of Defense Authorities and Civil Law Enforcement Functions’ in Washington, DC, USA. ., July 9, 2020.
Greg Nash | Reuters
Last month, Trump, in a series of tweets, wrote that US Army bases named after generals who fought for slavery to Confederate states in the Civil War will not be renamed.
The president argued in his June 10 tweets that the Confederate names of the bases have become part of the nation’s great “heritage”.
“It has been suggested that we rename up to 10 of our legendary military bases, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc. These monumental and very powerful bases have become part of a Great American heritage and a story of victory, victory and freedom, “Trump wrote on Twitter.
Read more: Trump says US Army bases to keep confederate names
Trump’s statement that his administration “will not even consider” changing names came three days after a US Army spokesman said, “The Secretary of the Army is open to having a bipartisan conversation about the change. in name “of 10 Army bases named in honor of the Confederacy generals who had served in the United States Army, the oldest branch of service in the country.
Last month, both the Marine Corps and the Navy announced plans to ban the Confederate battle flag from being displayed on ships and facilities.
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