The US Flag is the symbol of our country. Scouts should know how to fold it, fly it, and handle it. Flag etiquette is part of many of the Scout requirements. In many cases, the rules are pretty straightforward. But in other cases, you just need to know the rules. For example, it gets more complicated when you are flying the US flag with flags from other nations. Here are the basics.
Displaying the US Flag with Other Flags
- When displayed with lesser flags (such as states, communities, or organizations) and the flagpoles are all the same height, the United States flag is always placed in the position of honor – to its own right. Or the United States flag may be flown higher than the lesser flags.
- The United States flag should be the same size or larger than the other flags it is being flown with.
- No other flag should be displayed higher than or above the United States flag.
- Always raise the United States flag before other flags and lower it after other flags.
- When flown with the flags of other countries, each flag must be displayed from a separate pole of the same height. Each country’s flag should be the same size. They all be raised and lowered at the same time so that the flag of one nation is never displayed above the flag of another nation.
- Another nation’s flag must never be flown on the same halyard as the United States flag.
- If a state or local flag is flown on the same halyard as the United States flag, the lesser flag must fly below the United States flag.
- In another nation, that nation’s flag may be given a place of honor. But on US soil, the United States flag must hold the place of honor.
*A halyard is the line or rope used to hoist a flag.
If three poles, in a line, separately display the U S, a state and an organization flags, respectively, is the U S flag pole (tallest) to be north or other specified orientation to the others? Or, does only the height matter?
when the American flag is lowered to half mast does the other flags of other countries i.e. UK and Canada on separate poles get lowered to half mast as well, so as to satisfy the ” no other flags to fly higher than the American Flag”
this is a very passive description of flag protocol. words like “should be” have no place in a description of flag protocol.
Former USCG here, and if it wasn’t complicated enough already, there is always an exception to every rule – aboard ships equipped with a gaff (“a spar rising aft from a mast”) the position of honor is the gaff, and is not higher than the top of the mast – this applies on land as well, if the flag pole is so equipped. This is not a very common occurrence outside of land stations of sea going services (USCG, Navy, USMC) and yacht clubs, but you should never mistake the lower position for disrespect. Trust me, if anyone is the authority on flag etiquette it’s the military, particularly the sea services (land based flag etiquette is based on shipboard flag protocol). There are also a host of other guidelines for what flag goes where dependent upon whether the flag pole is fitted with a gaff, yardarm or both and which flags are being flown, this gets so complicated that it is an entire chapter in “Chapman’s piloting and seamanship” (the universally accepted reference for most things nautical)
(I’ve spent hours explaining the gaff being the position of honor despite being lower to confused, sometimes downright irate and offended, but generally well meaning people who complained about it, since the station I was at had a flag pole that was equipped with a gaff and yardarm and was very visible to the public
There are three separate poles, same high, same line. From left to right, first pole; with the American Flag, 2nd pole (in the middle) with the German Flag, 3rd pole, with the State Flag. All three flags of the same size. Is this display correct??