West Point cadets explain flag etiquette to Monroe scouts

Monroe — American Legion Post 488 in Monroe hosted the U.S. Military Academy Color Guard this past Monday evening, giving the Boy Scout and Brownie Girl Scout troops it sponsors an opportunity to learn about flag etiquette and how the color guard operates. “We appreciated the cadets visiting us and taking the time to speak to our members and the boy scouts and Brownies,” said Martin Currid, American Legion Post 488 first vice commander. “A program like this is an outstanding representation of one of the post’s many important missions of educating our youth about patriotism, the military and civics.” The cadets demonstrated to Boy Scout Troop 440, Cub Scout Troop 488, Brownie Girl Scout Troop 388 and their family members and guests how they present the American, Army and West Point flags at various public and military functions. Since last fall, which was the beginning of the academic year at West Point, the color guard has appeared in almost 100 events representing the U.S. Military Academy. The color guard, dressed in their summer dress uniforms featuring short-sleeved white shirts, explained how they are selected for the roles and the time it takes to practice the necessary precision marching. They also talked about the special attention and proper care given to every detail of the flags’ presentation. For example, color guard members said, the Army flag has a ribbon for every campaign that the Army has been engaged in since America’s formation. Those ribbons are also color-coded and that particular flag weighs about 50 pounds. The U.S. flag is kept in a black wrapped covering until it’s time for practice or performance. Part of their presentation included responding to questions from the all the scouts as well as giving the girls and boys impromptu lessons in proper marching techniques, and how to hold a saber and the unloaded rifles they carry during the presentation of the flags.