US House-approved Defense Act requires display of CNMI, territorial flags in military installations

The U.S. House of Representatives passed Friday the fiscal year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that included Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan’s (Ind-MP) bill, H.R. 985, requiring the display of CNMI and other territorial flags whenever state flags are displayed at U.S. military installations.

The Defense Act now faces a much higher hurdle in the U.S. Senate.

If enacted into law, the Defense Act could also appropriate $369 million for military and infrastructure projects in Guam, but does not include the roughly $100 million in World War II reparations being sought by Delegate Madeleine Bordallo (D-Gu) because Bordallo’s bill H.R. 44 was blocked by the GOP-controlled Rules Committee.

Sablan said Friday that a number of constituents have raised the issue of display of territorial flags with their congressional office over the last three years.

While the U.S. Army has been prompt to address the problem administratively, he said the Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy all allow base commanders to decide whether or not to display territorial flags along with state flags.

“I believe no local commander should have discretion to exclude any part of the United States-or the fighting men and women of any part of the United States-from recognition,” said Sablan, who will be back in the CNMI this week.

Sablan said a statutory remedy is required, so that CNMI military personnel “never have to face the embarrassment of returning from service overseas and seeing their flag forgotten in welcome home ceremonies.”

The Defense Act also increases salaries for U.S. military personnel by 1.7 percent.

Sablan’s HR 985, introduced on March 9, 2011, has 21 cosponsors. It amends Title 10 of the United States Code to require the Armed Forces to display the flags of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the CNMI whenever the official flags of all 50 states are displayed.

Flag in honor of late Marine

In other news, Sablan presented to the parents of the late Marine Lance Corporal Ramon T. Kaipat an American flag that Sablan asked to be flown over the U.S. Capitol in Kaipat’s honor.

Sablan made the presentation to Pedro and Sinforosa Kaipat, as well as other family members and relatives, during Mother’s Day weekend.

The late Marine was killed in Afghanistan on April 11, 2012 while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. He is the 16th service member from the CNMI who has died during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.