The Army should be non-political. So why is it at Mardi Gras?
The official pin features the iconic Rising Sun badge wrapped in the rainbow colours of the same sex marriage campaign. It is a blatantly political symbol , disrespecting the Anzac spirit in order to make a contentious political point, in direct contravention of official Army guidelines in place since 1903 to protect Australian Army emblems. The rising sun badge “cannot be redrawn, recoloured, renamed, modified, cropped, rotated, manipulated or altered in any way...or used a part of a new logo”. And yet, here it is, authorised in 2013 by the diversity-mad former Army Chief David Morrison to be pinned on Army uniforms , where no pin for any other cause is ever allowed. Vietnam veteran Charlie Lynn , for one, is furious that the Rising Sun has been wrapped in the imagery of identity politics. “That’s the biggest insult I have ever seen to a badge that means so much to both serving and retired veterans. It wasn’t designed to be a catalyst for social change. It’s a symbol of sacrif