An East Coast Navy SEAL team was caught on camera flying a Trump flag from a military Humvee while driving near Fort Knox, Kentucky, on Sunday.

The Navy is now investigating, SEAL officials said.

A spokesman at SEAL headquarters in Coronado said there are Pentagon and Navy regulations for convoys that dictate what and how flags and pennants may be displayed.


This incident will make SEAL leaders revisit those with their troops so this doesn’t happen again.

“The flag shown in the video was unauthorized,” said Capt. Jason Salata, public affairs officer at Naval Special Warfare Command.

“A command inquiry into this matter has been initiated, and this incident will prompt leadership at all levels to ensure our forces comply with proper convoy procedures.”

The SEAL team was in Kentucky training in and around Fort Knox.


U.S. military rules also say troops can’t display political signs or make political statements while in uniform. A 2005 Pentagon directive says no active-duty or retired service members may wear the uniform “during or in connection with furthering political activities.”

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For instance, active-duty service members weren’t allowed to march in gay-rights parades before the end of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy.

A Kentucky driver snapped the photo, and it went into wide circulation once a Kentucky group that opposes the policies of President Donald Trump posted it on social media.


A leader of that group, Indivisible Kentucky, called the display chilling, according to the Louisville newspaper.

“Our nation’s military must remain loyal to the constitution, and not any one individual. It’s critical to our democracy that the American public be able to trust that their military is apolitical and nonpartisan,” said Chris Rowzee of Indivisible Kentucky.

Trump supporters shot back on Twitter.


You gotta love the soft lefties trying to talk tough. Meanwhile a Navy SEAL team was driving around with a Trump flag...good luck w/revolt https://t.co/qCJ3aOKG5E — Cade🇺🇸 (@JackCade37) February 2, 2017

Navy Seal Team Flies a Trump Flag in their Convoy upsetting al the Snowflakes ...



Interesting tho 🤔 I never saw them fly a Obama flag pic.twitter.com/Qf8SL3TFFP — Villi Wilson❌ (@Conservative_VW) February 2, 2017

Another Twitter commenter wondered why the SEALs would fly a Trump flag so soon after a fellow East Coast SEAL was killed during a nighttime raid in Yemen last weekend — the first combat death in a mission authorized by Trump.

Reports are raising questions about the raid, indicating it may have been botched by misjudgments and missteps that lost the SEALs the element of surprise.


Trump's incompetence got a Navy SEAL killed in Yemen. So, they are flying a Trump flag in Kentucky? — Hesiod Theogeny (@Hesiod2k11) February 2, 2017

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There was a less straightforward kerfuffle back in late 2013 with the SEALs and potential political symbols.

A SEAL official apparently thought that wearing the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag — official title is the Navy Jack — wasn’t allowed on uniforms. This dovetailed with the Tea Party adopting “Don’t Tread on Me” as a motto.

But that ended up being a misunderstanding, and SEALs later ordered even more of the patches.

jen.steele@sduniontribune.com


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Twitter: @jensteeley