ORGANIZATIONAL FLAGS & STREAMERS

Separate brigades and groups of the US Army are authorized distinctive organizational flags. Designs are as follows:

Organizational flags for separate brigades and groups are 3 feet at the hoist by 4 feet on the fly with 2 1/2-inch yellow fringe. They are made of heavyweight rayon banner cloth with insignia and numerals applied to appear properly on both sides of the flag. Campaign and unit decoration streamers, if authorized, are always displayed with these flags.

Organizational flags for separate brigades are vertical bicolors. For most brigade types, the hoist stripe is in the first-named branch color and the fly stripe is in the second-named branch color. The brigade's shoulder sleeve insignia in proper colors is centered on the flag. Organizational flags for groups generally have a field in the first-named branch color with a diagonal stripe running from the top hoist to the bottom fly in the second-named branch color. The group's numerical designation in the first-named branch color is centered on the stripe.

US Army units that have been awarded US or foreign unit decorations display them as streamers on their organizational colors, flags and guidons. Generally, these streamers are made in the colors of the ribbon of the decoration and are inscribed with the action for which the unit was decorated or the theater of war in which meritorious service was rendered.

Army units may accept decorations from other branches of the US Armed Forces or from foreign allied armed forces when authorized by the Secretary of the Army. For the US Presidential Unit Citation, the colors of the streamer are determined by the branch which sponsors the award for the Army unit concerned. Dates are added to inscriptions when necessary to distinguish among two or more awards of the same decoration. A wreath, called the Earned Honor Device, is added at the fly end of the streamer to denote decorations earned specifically by battalions of regiments in the combat arms. Unit decoration streamers are authorized for guidons only when the decoration has been earned specifically by the company-sized unit concerned.

Units twice cited in the Order of the Day of the French Army and awarded the Croix d'Guerre with Palm exchange the streamer of the Croix d'Guerre for a streamer in the colors of the Medaille Militaire.

The Combat Infantry Streamer and the Combat Medical Streamer are awarded to infantry and medical units only when a specified percentage of their personnel have been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge or the Combat Medical Badge. Second and subsequent awards of the Combat Infantry Streamer are denoted by the addition of a star at the fly end of the streamer.

Unit decoration streamers are authorized in three sizes as follows. For the Organizational Color of the 3rd Infantry (The Old Guard): 2 3/4-inch hoist by 4-foot fly. For all other Army flags and colors: 2 3/4-inch hoist by 3-foot fly. For guidons: 1 3/8-inch hoist by 2-foot fly.