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Office of the Secretary of DefenseFlags of Senior Officials |
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The personal flag of any statutory official of the Office of the Secretary of Defense who is appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate is flown from the aftermost mast of a Navy ship throughout an official visit. As with the flags of the President, Vice President, or officials of the Navy Department, flags of OSD officials displace the commission pennant or, in the case of a flagship, the personal flag or command pennant of the senior naval officer. In the latter case, the flag officer's flag or unit commander's command pennant remains flying, but is shifted to the starboard main yardarm throughout the civil official's visit. When these officials visit shore installations of the Navy, the seniormost official's flag is displayed at the point where the installation commander's flag, if any, normally flies. These flags are also flown at the bow of boats of the Navy and may be displayed in a smaller size on automobiles. For indoor and parade use, the flags are trimmed with 2 1/2 inch fringe and the staff is decorated with cord and tassels as described below.
The establishment
of the Department of Defense in 1947, creating a new cabinet secretary
and staff structure in the Navy's chain of command, inevitably led to the
development of a new series of personal distinguishing flags. The
first of these, naturally enough, was that of the Secretary of Defense
himself. This flag, approved by President Truman on October 7, 1947,
is medium or "Defense" blue with an American bald eagle in full color in
the center and a white star in each corner. The eagle's wings are
expanded, its talons grasp three crossed arrows, and the United States
shield is displayed on its breast. All the personal flags used by
officials of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, as well as by the
Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, use the same eagle
and arrows device, which also forms the central element in the departmental seal.
When used as a ceremonial or indoor flag, it is trimmed with white fringe
and has a medium blue and white cord and tassels attached. The staff
of this ceremonial flag or the Secretary's boat flag is topped with a
brass
spread eagle.
The flag of the
Deputy Secretary of Defense was approved by the President on April 20,
1949, for the use of the Under Secretary of Defense, who was then the second
ranking official of the department. This flag, the same as the Secretary's
but with the colors of the field and stars reversed, became that of the
Deputy Secretary when the number two post was given that designation later
in 1949. For indoor and ceremonial use, this flag has a medium blue
fringe and medium blue and white cord and tassels. The flagstaff
ornament used by the Navy with this flag is a spread
eagle.
There are currently
five under secretaries of defense, one each for acquisition, technology and logistics;
policy; personnel and readiness; comptroller; and intelligence.
The flag now used by under secretaries was originally approved by the Secretary of Defense
on February 18, 1959, for the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, whose
title was subsequently changed to Under Secretary of Defense for Research
and Engineering. The flag is medium blue with a large dark blue triangle
extending from the base to the center of the upper edge, with the Department
device on the center and four white stars across the top.
Each under secretary has a principal deputy
under secretary (the word "principal" having been added to the title by statute in 2011),
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. (There were formerly
also deputy under secretaries, appointed by the secretary, but this title has been abolished by law
effective 1 January 2015.) The flag of a PDUSD is the same as that of an under secretary with the colors of
the field and triangle reversed. Navy Regulations do not yet provide for flying this flag aboard
ship but presumably will when the Regulations are updated in the future.
The flag for assistant
secretaries of defense (also used by the General Counsel of the department)
is the same as that of the Deputy Secretary, but with red stars rather
than blue. For indoor use, the fringe is also red and the cord and
tassels red and white. This flag was approved by the President on
August 16, 1949.
This flag, the same flag as that of assistant
secretaries but with dark blue rather than red stars, fringe, and cord
and tassels, is used by statutory officials of the department who are appointed by the President with
the advice and consent of the Senate. These include the Director of Cost Analysis and Program Evaluation,
the DoD Inspector General, the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, and the Deputy Chief Management
Officer. Current Navy Regulations do not provide for display
of this flag aboard ship, but should do so after the next revision.
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Civilian OSD officials of flag-equivalent rank below the level of assistant secretary
are generally members of the Senior Executive Service and are entitled to display the SES flag in their offices and to
use it on letterhead and similar personal items. Unlike the flags shown above, the SES flag is not hoisted on fixed flagpoles, aboard ship, or in boats.
The flag, which is approved by the Office of Personnel Management and used by SES members throughout the government
(except in a few agencies that have prescribed flags of somewhat different design)
shows the Senior Executive Service "keystone" emblem surrounded by 13 stars. The flag is trimmed with golden-yellow fringe.
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