Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2015 April 15

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April 15

what flag is this ?

hello - please what flag is this ? i did not find it in your (numerous) flag pages... - thanks in advance Blump007 (talk) 05:59, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The symbol is the Fleur-de-lis, but the design doesn't appear in that article @ Fleur-de-lis#Coats-of-arms and flags. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 05:57, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

It looks to me less like a fleur-de-lis (or for that matter a fleur of anything else) than a stylized bird or letter E. —Tamfang (talk) 07:04, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

thanks for your comments but it's indeed no fleur-de-lis at all: I just found out it's in Mongolia! Blump007 (talk) 07:06, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Didn't you know that "fleur-de-lis" is Mongolian for "stylised dove"? :) -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 07:12, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

haha - but i still don't know what in mongolia... let's search Blump007 (talk) 07:49, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

This page lists it as a flag of the Mongol Empire, but doesn't cite any source for the claim. Abecedare (talk) 07:52, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

"Alternate reconstructed flag of the Mongol Empire. Not from a reliable source, but recreated from images from a 700th anniversary celebration in Mongolia."

I found this on Wikimedia Commons and have copied the text into the caption. The web page link provided is dead. Alansplodge (talk) 07:59, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

oh yeah, thanks! it's confirmed by my street view link = "13th Century Complex" Blump007 (talk) 08:32, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Sidearms and US soldiers

In Hollywood movies, some US soldiers are depicted as having sidearms (pistols), one example being Black Hawk Down, in which a sniper fires his rifle until he is out of ammo, and then uses a pistol. I have read that in general it is just officers who carry a sidearm. Do US soldiers carry sidearms in addition to a rifle?OnBeyondZebrax • TALK 14:10, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Our Beretta M9 article and [1] don't suggest it's limited to officers, but definitely isn't everyone. Nil Einne (talk) 14:28, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Bear in mind that in Black Hawk Down, these were Special forces soldiers, and they are required to carry a sidearm in addition to their main weapon. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 15:18, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Oh I forgot to link to [2]. Nil Einne (talk) 16:47, 15 April 2015 (UTC)