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Flag Officers of the U.S. Navy |
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The flying of a flag at the masthead to designate the vessel of a fleet commander is more than twice as old as the United States Navy, dating well back into the Middle Ages. The first known orders covering this subject in the English navy were issued in 1530: "the Admiral ought to have this order before he joins battle with the enemy that all his ships shall bear a flag in their mizzen tops and himself one in the foremast beside[s] the mainmast."
Until shortly before the Civil War, the highest permanent grade in the U.S. Navy was that of captain, with those captains serving as squadron commanders bearing the courtesy title and flying the broad pennant of a commodore. Commodore's broad pennants were blue, red, or white, depending on seniority, with stars equal to the number of states in the Union. The senior commodore present flew a blue pennant with white stars, the next senior red with white, and any others white with blue stars. In 1857, Congress created the title of "flag officer" and in 1862 finally authorized the first American use of the title "admiral." The flag officers and later the rear admirals initially flew plain rectangular flags of solid blue, red, or white, again depending on seniority, but in 1865 a new issuance of Navy Regulations introduced the modern system of designating flag officers' ranks with flags showing the number of stars matching the insignia on their uniforms. Initially the stars were small and grouped in the upper hoist of the flag, but by the time the first signal book was issued implementing these regulations in 1867, however, the arrangement of stars had taken on much the appearance it has today. The starred rank flags were replaced in 1870 by a system of red-and-white striped flags, but were restored in 1876 and have remained in use ever since.
The rules for the use of personal flags in the
Navy are carefully spelled out in Navy Regulations and Flags,
Pennants and Customs. A summary may be found
below.
Although the Navy
was the first service to use flags to distinguish its senior officers,
it was among the last to adopt distinctive designs for its chief and vice
chief. The personal flag of the Chief of Naval Operations, modeled
after those of the Army and Air Force chiefs of staff and the Chairman
of the JCS, was approved in October 1964 and made its first appearance in the 1965 edition of Flags,
Pennants and Customs, some 50 years after the position of Chief of
Naval Operations was established in 1915. The flag is divided diagonally
from lower hoist to upper fly, blue over white, with the central device
of the CNO's office on a white disk at the center surrounded by a golden
chain. The device is an eagle with a U.S. shield on its breast and
holding an anchor horizontally in its talons. Four stars in a diamond
pattern surround the disk, blue on the white field and white on the blue.
The staff ornament for the CNO's flag is a spread
eagle.
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations' flag was introduced in the 1970s.
Its basic design is the same as the CNO's, but the field is divided into
four sections by two crossing diagonal lines, blue in the hoist and fly
sections and white in the upper and lower. The trim and accoutrements
for parade and indoor display are the same as the CNO's, but the flagstaff
ornament is a halberd.
In 1944, the
five-star rank of fleet admiral was authorized by Congress. Only
four officers have been entitled to use the corresponding flag, blue with
a ring of five white stars, making it the rarest of the Navy's personal
flags: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William
Halsey. The last official display of the five-star flag was when
it was carried before the casket at the funeral of Fleet Admiral Nimitz
in 1966. In boats and for indoor or parade display, the flagstaff
is topped by a spread eagle.
David Glasgow
Farragut became the U.S. Navy's first full admiral under an Act of Congress
of July 25, 1866. The 1867 signal book showed his flag as blue with
four large white stars distributed evenly on the field in a diamond pattern.
With minor modifications in the size and spacing of the stars, the same
flag is flown by full admirals today. A version in red with white
stars existed from 1915 to 1940 to indicate a junior admiral in the presence
of a senior, and Admiral Hyman Rickover, an engineering duty officer, had
a white version with blue stars as an officer not eligible
for command at sea. In boats or for indoor or parade display,
the flagstaff is topped by a halberd.
David Glasgow Farragut became
the U.S. Navy's first vice admiral in 1864, but at the time his flag was
simply a solid blue field flown at the head of the foremast. Although
a blue flag with three stars arrayed in a triangle was authorized by the
1865 regulations, the first vice admiral actually to fly it was David Dixon
Porter, who succeeded Farragut in the position of vice admiral when Farragut
was given his fourth star in 1866. As with the admiral's flag, there
was a red version with white stars from 1915 to 1940 to indicate a junior
vice admiral in the presence of a senior. In boats or for indoor
or parade display, the flagstaff is topped by a halberd.
Under the 1865
regulations, the nine (later 10) rear admirals flew their two-star flags
at the mizzen, following the traditional color scheme of white stars on
blue or red or blue stars on white depending on seniority. The stars
were arranged in a vertical line centered on the flag in essentially the
same pattern used today. The white and red variations were abolished
in about 1906 and in 1940 respectively. In boats or for indoor or
parade display, the flagstaff is topped by a halberd.
This newest of
the Navy's rank flags was created as a result of the establishment of the
rank of commodore admiral under the 1982 Defense Officer Personnel Management
Act. This anomalous title was invented to satisfy Army and Air Force
complaints that naval officers went straight from no-star to two-star precedence
when they were promoted to rear admiral. To go with the new rank,
a blue flag with a single white star was created. This flag, not
the traditional broad pennant, continued in use when the title was changed
to commodore in 1983 and finally to rear admiral (lower half) in 1986.
In boats or for indoor or parade display, the flagstaff is topped by a
halberd.
The title of
"commodore"--a term borrowed from the Dutch--came into use in the Royal
Navy in about 1690 to designate officers below the rank of admiral who
were temporarily assigned to command of a squadron of warships. The
commodore's distinguishing mark came to be a "broad pennant"(or, as it
was spelled until the mid-nineteenth century, "pendant") a pennant that
was wider and shorter than the narrow pennant (commission pennant), the
distinctive mark of a warship that is not commanded by a flag officer.
In the early years of the U.S. Navy, the broad pennant was sometimes triangular
and sometimes swallowtailed, but eventually came to be standardized in
a swallowtailed format. As noted above, throughout the first half
of the 19th century, U.S. Navy commodores used broad pennants bearing the
same number of stars as the number of states in the Union. In 1857,
the title of commodore was superseded by that of "flag officer" and the
broad pennant by the plain rectangular flag officer's flag. The same
1862 law that created the rank of rear admiral, however, also restored
the title of commodore, leading the Navy to revive the broad pennant in
its old design. The 1865 Regulations altered this design to bring
the broad pennant into line with the new system used for admirals, so that
commodores bore a single star centered on the pennant. In 1899, the
rank of commodore was abolished in the active Navy, although captains who
had served in the Civil War continued to be promoted to it as an honorary
rank upon retirement. The rank was revived in 1943, but as a temporary
grade for wartime only. The old commodore's broad pennant was restored
accordingly. Only 147 officers were promoted to commodore, none after
1945. All of them were off active duty by 1950 and the rank was formally
abolished in the active Navy in 1952. Thereafter the broad pennant
gradually became obsolete with the deaths of retired commodores and its
design was dropped from the signal books in 1986.
In December 1948, the Chief of Naval Operations directed that flag officers not eligible for command at sea be authorized to use white flags with blue stars. Such flags had previously been used for the junior flag officer of a given grade present at any particular location. By article 1001 of Navy Regulations, only line officers who are not restricted in the performance of duty, and limited duty officers designated for duty in line technical fields, may exercise command at sea. Those not eligible for command at sea include officers of the staff corps (medical, supply, chaplain, civil engineer, judge advocate general, dental, medical service, and nurse corps) as well as line officers restricted to engineering or special duties, such as cryptography, intelligence, public affairs, and oceanography. These flags are never flown aboard ship, but may be flown in boats and are used ashore to designate the headquarters of such entities as the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, the Naval Supply Systems Command, naval medical centers, the Naval Construction Brigade, and the Naval Security Group Command. As for unrestricted line officers of equivalent rank, the flagstaff in boats or for indoor or parade display is topped by a halberd.
Vice
Admiral
Rear
Admiral
Rear
Admiral (Lower Half)
When flown aboard ship or from a fixed flagmast ashore, admirals' flags, and other personal flags used by the U.S. Navy, are in the same proportions as the union jack, approximately 7:10. NavRegs Art. 1266 delineates how these flags are to be used aboard ship, where the admiral's personal flag is flown in his or her flagship, replacing the commission pennant at the masthead of the aftermost mast. It is broken at the masthead at the moment the officer assumes command and remains there night and day, to be hauled down only when he or she is relieved from command or under specific circumstances:
A flag officer, civilian official, unit commander,
or ship commanding officer who is absent for less than 72 hours from
the ship in which his or her flag or command pennant is flying indicates this absence
by flying one of the substitute pennants of the International Code of Signals
at a specified point in the ship:
| Pennant | At | Absentee |
| 1st Substitute
|
Outboard halyard,
starboard main yardarm |
Flag officer or unit commander
|
| 2nd Substitute
|
Inboard halyard,
port main yardarm |
Chief of staff
|
| 3rd Substitute
|
Outboard halyard,
port main yardarm |
Commanding officer (If CO is absent for more than 72 hours, 3rd Sub indicates XO is also absent.) |
| 4th Substitute
|
Inboard halyard,
starboard main yardarm |
Civilian or military official whose flag is flying in ship |
Ashore, a flag officer in command displays the personal flag 24 hours a day at a suitable place in the command. Normally, this is at the starboard arm of the crosstree on the installation flagmast, but if the flagmast is equipped with a gaff, the personal flag flies at the truck (top) of the pole. As is the case aboard ship, the admiral's flag in this case may also be displaced by that of a more senior admiral or a civil official on an official visit. The flags of officers who are not eligible for command at sea are displayed ashore.
In boats, an admiral's flag is flown from a staff in the bow whenever he or she is embarked on an official occasion. When the occasion is unofficial, a miniature flag may be displayed near the coxswain's station. The staff on which the admiral's flag is flown and the staff for the ensign in the stern of the boat are topped with the appropriate finial for the admiral's rank, either a spread eagle or a halberd. In addition, the barge regularly assigned to an admiral is marked on the bow with metal stars arranged in the same pattern as those on the corresponding personal flag. Admirals may also use small versions of their flags on the front of their automobiles on official occasions.
For indoor or parade use, admirals' flags are 52 by 66 inches, trimmed with golden yellow fringe. Officers assigned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations are entitled to decorated the staff with a golden yellow cord and tassels. Admirals almost invariably display such a flag in their offices. A small replica of the flag adorns a flag officer's personal stationery and invitations, and, draped in mourning, precedes the casket to the grave at his or her funeral.
Sea
Flags
Copyright 2000, 2001 by Joseph McMillan