Military police are investigating the raising of a Confederate flag at a U.S. Army base in Germany earlier this week, according to a service spokesman.
An “unknown individual” stole the American and German national flags from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment headquarters building at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany, sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning, unit spokesperson Maj. John Ambelang told multiple outlets in a statement.
“Additionally, the confederate battle flag was also raised on a flag pole outside of the Regimental Headquarters,” Ambelang said, according to Army Times.
The flag was “immediately” removed upon discovery Monday morning and base camera footage is being reviewed.
“The regiment takes this misconduct very seriously,” he said. “Should the culprit be identified, the command will take appropriate action after considering all the facts surrounding the incident.”
The incident at the detachment of roughly 5,000 people comes more than a year after the Pentagon effectively banned the Confederate flag in a broad policy intended to prevent divisive symbols from being publicly displayed on military bases.
Then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper in July 2020 implemented the flag policy, which also prohibited other flags including those of sports teams and the Pride flag.
Following a review, Pentagon officials under the Biden administration in June decided to keep the policy in place.
After the discovery at Rose Barracks, regiment commanders relayed the seriousness of the situation to soldiers at morning formation, Ambelang noted.