The Posting of the Colors is a practice conducted by military

color guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is highly prestigious, and the mil ...

s of the United States at the beginning of a particular ceremony. The practice is also done by the

Girl Scouts of the United States of America Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...

, as well as the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

. Posting the colors requires that a color guard team move the colors (usually the

American flag The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

, the

state flag In vexillology, a state flag is either the flag of the government of a sovereign state, or the flag of an individual federated state (subnational administrative division). Government flag A state flag is a variant of a national flag (or occas ...

, the

service flag A service flag or service banner is a banner that family members of those serving in the United States Armed Forces can display. The flag or banner is officially defined as a white field with a red border, with a blue star for each family member ...

, and the unit flag) from a carried position and placed into a stand. This formality is normally done at events such as graduation ceremonies and public events. Specifically, it is done prior to the playing of "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" or the reciting of the

Pledge of Allegiance The U.S Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army o ...

. In that case, the color guard will present arms once the colors have been posted.

References

United States military traditions United States Army traditions Ceremonies Boy Scouts of America Police culture {{Mil-stub

See also

References