In the movie, Blackhawk Down, most of the soldiers had the American
flag insignia on their uniform sewn on backwards.  The stars and
stripes are in the upper right hand corner.  I've noticed that our
soldiers in Afghanistan also have the flags sewn on backwards.  Why?

Hello,

The Independence Hall Association
(http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html) explains it as follows:

"Why is the flag sometimes backwards on the side of airplanes, buses,
and military uniforms?
The flag decals have the union (the blue area with the stars) on the
side closer to the front of the plane. On the plane's left, the decal
shows the flag with the union at the left, as usual. On the plane's
right side, the union is on the right. This is done so that the flag
looks as if it is blowing in the wind created by the forward movement
of the ship or airplane. You can see this on cars and trucks as well.
Click to see pictures of the flag decals on Air Force 1. There are two
separate flag patches in the Army inventory: the normal U.S. flag
replica that is worn on the left sleeve, and what is referred to as
the "reversed field" flag patch, which is worn on the right sleeve."

From an US Army Rangers Association
(http://www.kbnet.com/cgi-bin/read?book=RangerAssocs&page=3)
guestbook:

"I have been given two reasons why it appears "backwards" on the
sleeve. Reason 1, As a flag is attached to a standard that is in
motion, the Stars are to the front with the Stripes streaming behind.
The soldier to which the patch is affixed serves as the standard. As
he (or she) is marching forward, the stars are to the front with the
stripes "streaming" behind. From the Ceremonial unit members, if the
flag was removed from the sleeve, and placed over the chest, the Stars
are to the left, closer to the heart. I understand that in Somolia,
the Flag was velcroed to the sleeve, so at night it could be removed
and placed on the front of the flak jackets."

So basically, the flag's hoist (the part with the blue field and
stars) always points toward the front, as if the soldier was holding
two flags while running forward.

Thanks for using Google Answers.

search strategy:

army flag patch backwards
<://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=army+flag+patch+backwards>

Since this is the first time I've used Google, I apparently entered my
question twice accidentally!  But, I appreciate getting two answers so
quickly.  Yours was even more informative and thorough. Thank you.

Just a thought that might help in understanding the orientation of
flags:

There is no "backwards" when it comes to flags because there is no
"right" or "left" either.  The pattern on a (proper) flag goes right
through from one side of the material to the other, so that - in
general - the two sides of a flag look different, being enantiomorphs
(left-right reversals) of one another.  So what is on the left for one
viewer is on the right for someone viewing from the other side of the
flag - or even for the original viewer when the wind changes
direction.

Instead, the two sides of a flag are the "hoist" - the side attached
to the flagpole - and the "fly" - the opposite side.  The stars on the
US flag are at the top on the hoist side of the flag; whether this is
on the left or right depends on where the flag is, which way the wind
is blowing (or the flag is moving) and where you are looking at it
from.

Hope this helps.

Carnegie.