Flag Placement Controversy

[smallcat]

I was at a convention, there was the American flag and a flag from another country.
There were large flags on poles, the American flag to the speakers right and the other flag to the speakers left.
There was also a pair of small flags on a table in front of the podium.
Since the main American flag was to the right I was told by the Honor Guard from the reserves that the smaller American flag should be on the left.
I thought the American flag was always on the right with no exceptions.
I have read the law but I can't find what happens with multiple sets of flags

[panmunjomi]

The American flag is always on the right facing front of all other flags and never dipped. You can refer to this link: Federal Citizen Information Center: Our Flag

[Peter Ansoff]

Greetings, panmunjomi -- welcome to the forum!

The American flag is . . . never dipped

That's not *quite* true. US Navy ships dip their flags when responding to a salute from a US or foreign vessel. NTP 13B, "Flags Pennants and Customs", says

"When any ship, under U.S. registry or the registry of a nation formally recognized by the U.S., salutes a ship of the Navy by dipping it's ensign, it shall be answered dip for dip. If not already displayed, the national ensign shall be hoisted for the purpose of answering the dip and, after a suitable interval, hauled down. If displayed at half-mast, the national ensign shall first be hoisted to the peak before answering the dip, then returned to half-mast after a suitable interval . . . no ship of the US Navy shall dip the national ensign unless in return for such a complement."

It's true that the US flag is never dipped *on land*. When saluting a parade official, for example, the unit color is dipped.

Peter Ansoff