Sunday, Bucky Badger presented the Wisconsin National Guard's 115th Fighter Wing with an \official"" UW-Madison spirit flag.
""The point of the flag is to continue to foster positive relations with the National Guard units in Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin-Madison,"" said Don Nelson, UW Assistant Director of State Relations. ""We want to support our troops.""
According to Nelson, UW-Madison chose to give a flag because flags are generally taken with units and deployed at their locations. He added this presentation is the first of many relationship-building events.
The Wisconsin National Guard is contributing to building the relationship too.
Brian Lucas, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, said the Wisconsin National Guard presented a UW-Madison flag to Barry Alvarez and Jim Leonard at halftime of a men's basketball game.
The flag was then to travel with the football team to Florida where they were playing in the Outback Bowl.
Wisconsin National Guard Lt. Col. Tim Donovan said the National Guard has a great relationship with the UW-system and offered a detailed explanation on the significance of flags.
After Sept. 11, Wisconsin National Guard units are deployed with a state of Wisconsin flag presented to them by a high-ranking state official. That flag is then used to mark the headquarters of various units.
Donovan was careful to differentiate the ""stars and stripes"" from unit flags, which are referred to as ""colors,"" because ""colors"" represent the Badger State and boast home-state pride.
Donovan, who referred to the UW-Madison flag as a ""motion W,"" added flags make it easy to identify National Guard units because each unit always shows their ""colors"" in the areas they are deployed.
When asked how to identify the Wisconsin National Guard, Donovan said to look for three things.
""Look for the state of Wisconsin flag, a motion W and a green and gold G,"" he said.
