What Is Those Flag Banners Calling?

 According to American Heritage Dictionary, a bunting is a unit of men made up of one hundred and thirty men under the command of a Major, usually a Colon or an officer of distinction who commands the troop and has the power of ordering that troop to proceed with a certain action. Buntings are also referred to as pennant flags, because they resemble flags. On other occasions, the term is used to mean a flat piece of cloth, with a white flag on the front and another flag bunting on the rear which are not flat but rather carried on the shoulder.

Another frequent use of the term "bunt" is when speaking of the military units in the U.S. Army. In many cases, but not always, the word "bunt" is used to describe the insignia worn by members of this service. These insignia are referred to in the phrase "ballooning the flag" to illustrate how the soldiers would move if they were to advance to within the distance of one to two miles of the enemy, without being visible to them. Many times these small balloons are attached to the rear of vehicles to give the illusion that the troops have advanced closer to the enemy than they actually have.

The uniforms of this military branch are referred to as buntings as well, even though the actual insignia of the regiment is called a flag pole, which is a rectangular piece of wood with two flags on its crest. The actual words of the phrase are "balloon the flag", which is intended to explain the nature of the action. It should be noted that the colors used to design these bunting uniforms are often based on the colors worn by the actual military forces, particularly the Army and Marines. Special Forces groups in the Air Force tend to use the colors blue and white, according to historical records. Today the term bunting is used to describe the uniforms worn by members of various civilian organizations, including the British Royal Air Force.