Flag of Åland Flag of Åland The flag of Åland refers to the geographical and political position of the Finnish islands of Åland. It is the Swedish flag defaced by a red cross symbolising Finland. Today, blue and white are considered the Finnish colours, but in the early days of Finnish nationalism, red and yellow from the Finnish coat of arms were also an option. The flag has been the official flag of the autonomous Finnish province of Åland since 1954. It was first hoisted on 3 April 1954. Prior to autonomy, an unofficial horizontal bicolour triband of blue-yellow-blue was in use. That
Colour guard officer was necessary to carry it out. Today, it is a regular officer rank. This is composed of two commissioned officers, called "fanförare" ("carriers of the colour") and eight enlisted soldiers. This stems from the time of king Gustavus Adolphus and the Thirty years war when all Swedish regiments had eight battalions. Each battalion contributed one soldier to the common colour guard. This is composed of one commissioned officer and four enlisted soldiers. This is composed of three commissioned officers. In the military of the United States, the "color guard" (where the word color is referring to the national flag)