Air Force ROTC will not Present Colors at LSU Game
Nov 1, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs fans fly the American flag during the game at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
We haven’t touched the Mississippi State Flag controversy on our site. We have done so for a number of reasons, but most importantly, this site is about the athletics of Mississippi State. Is that changing this weekend?
Due to the objections of the Mississippi State Flag made by the Faculty Senate on 9/9/15, there was rampant speculation about whether or not the Air Force Color Guard is going to be able to present the colors at the first football game because of this decision on social media. Military regulations dictate the presentation of the colors must be done with the U.S. flag and state flag. So the question is whether or not the ROTC will be presenting the colors?
I talked to Sid Salter from the office of Public Affairs. He said the Air Force ROTC will not be presenting the colors, but it isn’t because of the Faculty Senate’s vote to voice their displeasure over the current state flag of Mississippi.
He gave a lengthy response about trying to improve the flow of pregame activities. He said the increased presence of television means the school had to revamp their pregame plan, but he wanted to stress the school wanted to honor the American flag and that they wanted to continue to be as patriotic as they could.
There was a lot of discussion on the school’s Facebook post when the Guinness World Record was broken at Cowbell Yell. The school responded at one point with this in the thread:
"There is a lot of erroneous information in this thread. The National Anthem and the traditional honoring of the colors will indeed take place Saturday night pre-game as it always has. The decision the university made was to improve the flow of pre-game activities and incorporate an innovative new patriotic performance by the MSU Maroon Band. The band has a new pre-game and national anthem routine that will include a “USA” spell-out and use of the song “Grand Old Flag” prior to playing the National Anthem. The focal point for the band and the crowd during the performance of the National Anthem will be the large permanent stadium flag, which eliminates the need for the ROTC color guard. The university sees this new routine as an appropriate display of patriotism and a better fan experience. MSU does not use a pre-game color guard in any other sport and hasn’t for several years – we use the new large venue American flags. MSU’s ROTC remains a high-profile part of our game day activities, particularly in leading the post-touchdown celebrations in the end zone. MSU has earned national recognition as a military-friendly campus and that remains a significant part of our university values."
This is a pretty good summary of what Sid Salter said to me while I spoke with him on the phone. I must however question the timing of removing the Air Force ROTC from pregame festivities. This sounds like a reasonable explanation. But due to the political and controversial state of the Mississippi flag, one can’t help but wonder if the school had to scramble to find a way to still honor the American flag because the decision by the Faculty Senate meant the Air Force ROTC was no longer going to be able to participate.