Arizona SCV Once Again Carries the Fight to Congress
Calling on Congress to restore Confederate battle streamers
Calling on Congress to restore Confederate battle streamers
(Don Smith, Herald Review) - Winter and spring are “NDAA Season.” As in, National Defense and Authorization Act. From January through April, members of Congress compile inputs for the NDAA bill that will fund War Department operations for the next fiscal year. The NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress absolutely must pass every year. This NDAA season, as Congress debates the FY 2027 NDAA, offers Congress an opportunity to correct a mistake it made six years ago.
The heart of a military unit is its “colors”—the ornamental flag that displays the unit crest and name. American military colors carry campaign streamers, which commemorate past battles where the unit performed honorably. Prior to 2023, Army National Guard unit colors carried Confederate battle streamers, if that unit was descended from former Confederate units. The “Naming Commission,” created by Congress in the FY2021 NDAA to review Confederate symbology in the Defense (now War) Department, recommended that Confederate battle streamers be removed. Congress did not intervene, and the streamers were removed in September of 2023.
That was a mistake, and Congress should now fix that. The Arizona Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) has called on Arizona’s Congressional delegation to add language to the FY 2027 NDAA, that mandates the permanent flying of Confederate battle streamers on unit…
As a former Guardsman from the state of Georgia, it hurts my heart to think that our battle streamers were removed from our colors. However, never underestimate the political correctness of higher ranking officers within Southern Guard organizations. They willingly sell us out daily to make political hay.