2. Coordinate a daily schedule with your local veteran's organization to send a member at the start and/or close of each business day to your local post office to raise and/or lower the American and POW/MIA flags. Click here for a sample schedule to be used by your members assigned to flag duty.

a. Active or Former military members assigned to flag duty are advised to wear on their collar a military award or service ribbon; or on their lapel a military award or service medal. The type of service medal or ribbon is optional according to the military member's or military veteran member's service authorized issue record.

b. Associate Members are advised to wear an emblem or insignia reflecting their organization membership.

c. Military family members, widows of POW/MIA's, spouses or partners of MIA's may be permitted to perform flag duty.

d. The 50 United States encompasses seven time zones. Citizens performing flag duty are admonished to be punctual within plus or minus two minutes of local flag raising or lowering times.

e. Citizens performing flag duty are admonished to be appropriately and respectfully dressed.

f. Citizens performing flag duty are admonished never to discuss matters of any political nature with local Post Office employees or patrons; or in any form or manner to display, articulate, support, defend, criticize, or condemn any subject of political interest with local Post Office employees or patrons. At no time before, during or after election periods may citizens performing flag duty wear, distribute, articulate or reference any item of political nature. Additional, non-political regulations may be prescribed by local postmasters or postal staff according to federal regulations.

g. Military and military veteran organizations are required to closely and cordially coordinate flag duty with other local veterans organizations subsequently requesting to perform flag duty at the same local USPS post office or postal location; and to permit equal opportunity flag duty for any local military or military veteran organization or qualified individual of active or former military service to participate; The coordination of inter-organization flag duty must be handled by the organization(s) and present no additional burden, inconvenience, interaction or judgment by the local postmaster or post office staff. All organizations requesting cooperative flag duty must daily keep in mind that the duty of flag raising and lowering is a PRIVILEGE granted by the local postmaster or staff on an ONGOING TEMPORARY BASIS subject to immediate and UNANNOUNCED TERMINATION by the postmaster WITHOUT EXPLANATION at ANY TIME.

h. Military and military veteran organizations must not require that applicants requesting to perform flag duty be active, associate or inactive organization members. However, whenever non-members are permitted to perform flag duty an organization member MUST be present to ensure that the highest respect and standards are paid to flag(s); For the purposes of education and patriotic instruction, supervised children are permitted to perform flag duty.

i. Organization members, non-members or individuals performing flag duty must not solicit or accept any financial, material or promisory compensation of any kind from anyone.

j. Organization members, associates or representatives must not provide or distribute organization material or information of any kind.

k. Ceremonial flag folding shall in all cases and on all dates be waived. Flag folding shall be performed in the basic form of repetitive flag halving to achieve one foot by one foot size; or less if flag folding completion size results; or more if flag folding completion size requires.

l. When instrumented, the human or electronic presentation of auditory/musical reveille or retreat at flag raising and/or lowering shall never intrude upon the community quiescence.

3. Military and military organizations may announce their organization's flag duty to local news media. Click here for a sample Press Release.

Should you have any questions or comments about this website, please direct your inquiries to:

Roger Simpson,
Public Information Officer (PIO/AMW)
The American War Library
16907 Brighton Avenue
Gardena CA 90247-5420


PIO@amervets.com -or- amerwar@amervets.com
310-532-0634

End of Document
This website established on 22 Mar 2002
The American War Library