Why is the American flag patch backwards on American soldiers' uniforms?

Asked by andrew (16543) December 9th, 2006

There was a photo on the cover of the LA times of a US soldier in Afghanistan, on his soldier, above his rank, was a patch of the American flag. It was mirrored, though: the "stars" were on the right side, not the left. I know the photo itself wasn't flipped because I could read "Mountain" just below the reversed flag.