Serving American Institutions: Why Flying Cross Invests in U.S. Production, One Stitch at a Time

Walk through the Flying Cross facilities in Hodgenville, KY and Grantsville, MD, and you’ll see skilled operators at work. They guide fabric through machines, inspect every seam, and test finished garments for strength and precision. These plants carry forward a legacy that stretches back to the Civil War, producing uniforms for some of the nation’s most visible and demanding institutions: the U.S. military and the U.S. Postal Service.

Today, more than 425 employees support that mission, producing hundreds of thousands of garments each year to exacting standards. From the Army, Navy, and Marines serving around the world to the postal employees in neighborhoods across the country, Flying Cross ensures the professional appearance and reliability that these institutions require.

Why American production matters

The decision to maintain U.S.-based manufacturing is not nostalgia; it’s strategy. Global supply chains have proven fragile in recent years, with delays and disruptions affecting both readiness and public trust. By keeping significant portions of production stateside, Flying Cross ensures tighter quality control, more predictable delivery, and faster responsiveness to customer needs.

That commitment is most visible in the Postal Service, where Flying Cross is one of three uniform manufacturers and currently supplies to a majority of the nation’s carriers. It also extends to the military, where Flying Cross produces daily and formal dress uniforms that support the performance and uphold the reputation of America’s armed forces. In both cases, the garments are not just simply made in the United States, they are designed for institutions whose credibility sets the bar for all others across the globe.

Linking tradition to innovation

While American manufacturing provides stability, it also enables agility for America’s finest. Production lines at home can adapt quickly to evolving requirements, incorporating feedback from the field into real-time product improvements. That balance of tradition and responsiveness has helped Flying Cross remain a trusted name in service uniforms for more than 180 years.

At the same time, the company continues to innovate across its broader product range, drawing on insights from this work to better support other frontline professionals such as police officers, fire fighters and additional first responders. The premium standards that define its military and postal lines carry through and can be found across every product Flying Cross delivers.

A trusted standard for those who serve

When a soldier, sailor, or letter carrier puts on a Flying Cross uniform, they wear more than fabric. They carry forward a tradition of quality, reliability, and professionalism that reflects the institutions they represent.

That dedication is a symbol of the company’s ongoing commitment to resilience, responsiveness, and results for the nation’s most trusted institutions. It’s not just patriotic, it’s practical. For other procurement leaders, it’s worth asking: how are you weighing these potential strategic advantages in your daily decisions? And if you’re not, why?