The defense secretary lists the types of flags that are allowed to appear on bases worldwide. That flag does not fit.
The Pentagon, without once mentioning the word “Confederate,” announced a policy on Friday that essentially bans displays of the Confederate flag on military installations around the world.
In a carefully worded memo that Defense Department officials said they hoped would avoid igniting another defense of the flag from President Trump, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper issued guidance that lists the types of flags that can be displayed on military installations — in barracks, on cars and on signs.
According to the guidance, appropriate flags include those of American states and territories, military services and other countries that are allies of the United States. The guidance never specifically says that Confederate flags are banned, but they do not fit in any of the approved categories — and any such flags are prohibited.
“Problem solved — we hope,” one Defense Department official said on Friday, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to anger Mr. Trump.
That senior military leaders are contorting themselves to such an extent shows the gap that has developed between the White House and the movement for racial justice that has swept across the country since the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police in May. As protests ignited, senior Defense Department officials began grappling with the legacy of racism in the military.
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a House hearing last week that the Pentagon needed to take “a hard look” at changing the names of Army bases honoring Confederate officers who had fought against the Union during the Civil War, explicitly laying out a course that diverges from his commander in chief.
