system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are American flags backwards on military uniforms?
gpt
The flags are depicted as if they were being carried on a flag pole. 

Imagine each soldier is carrying a flag pole and walking forward at a fast speed. The flag will naturally unfurl behind them.

Now if you walk alongside the soldier and look at the flag, it will match the patch on their shoulder. From one side you'll see the "front" of the flag with the blue section towards the left side of the flag.  But if you were walking on the other side of the soldier you'd be seeing the "back" of the flag and the blue section would appear on the right side. Out of context, one shoulder patch looks correct and one looks backwards but in reality they are both correct when put in the context of a flag being carried into battle.