Aflag officer is acommissioned officer in a nation'sarmed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly aflag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command.
Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways:
The generic title of flag officer is used in many modern navies andcoast guards to denote those who hold the rank ofrear admiral or its equivalent and above, also called "flag ranks". In some navies, this also includes the rank ofcommodore. Flag officer corresponds to the generic termsgeneral officer, used by land and some air forces to describe all grades of generals, andair officer, used by other air forces to describe all grades ofair marshals andair commodores.
A flag officer sometimes is ajunior officer, called aflag lieutenant orflag adjutant, attached as a personaladjutant oraide-de-camp.
In theCanadian Armed Forces, a flag officer (French:officier général, "general officer") is anadmiral,vice admiral,rear admiral, orcommodore, the naval equivalent of ageneral officer of the army or air force. It is a somewhat counterintuitive usage of the term, as only flag officers in command of commands or formations actually have their own flags (technically a commodore has only abroad pennant, not a flag), and army and air force generals in command of commands or formations also have their own flags, but are not called flag officers. Base commanders, usually fullcolonels, have a pennant that flies from the mast or flagpole on the base, when resident, or on vehicles that carry them.[3]
A flag officer's rank is denoted by a wide strip of gold braid on the cuff of the service dress tunic, one to four goldmaple leaves over a crossed sword and baton, all beneath a royal crown, onepaulettes andshoulder boards; and two rows of gold oak leaves on the peak of the service cap.[4] Since theunification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, a flag officer's dress tunic had a single broad stripe on the sleeve and epaulettes.
In May 2010 the naval uniform dark dress tunic was adjusted—exterior epaulettes were removed, reverting to the sleeve ring andexecutive curl-rank insignia used by most navies.commodores' uniforms display a broad stripe, and each succeeding rank receives an additional sleeve ring. There are no epaulettes on the exterior of the tunic, but they are still worn on the uniform shirt underneath.[5]
In theIndian Armed Forces, it is applied tobrigadiers,major generals,lieutenant generals andgenerals in theArmy;commodores,rear admirals,vice admirals andadmirals in theNavy; andair commodores,air vice marshals,air marshals andair chief marshals in theAir Force. Each of these flag officers are designated with a specific flag. India's honorary ranks (five star ranks) arefield marshal in the Army,Marshal of the Indian Air Force in the Air Force andadmiral of the fleet in the Navy. A similar equivalence is applied to senior police officers of rankDeputy Inspector General (DIG),Inspector General (IG),Additional Director General (ADG) andDirector General (DG).
In the United Kingdom, the term is only used for theRoyal Navy, with there being a more specific distinction between a "flag officer" and an "officer of flag rank". Formerly, all officers promoted to flag rank were considered to be "flag officers".[6] The term is still widely used to refer to any officer of flag rank. Present usage is thatrear admirals and above are officers of flag rank, but only those officers who are authorised to fly a flag are formally called "flag officers" and have different flags for different ranks ofadmiral.[7]
Of the 39 officers of flag rank in the Royal Navy in 2006, very few were "flag officers" with entitlement to fly a flag. For example, aCommander-in-Chief Fleet flies an admiral's flag whether ashore or afloat and is a "flag officer". The chief of staff (support), a rear admiral, is not entitled to fly a flag and is an "officer of flag rank" rather than a "flag officer".List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy lists most admirals who were "flag officers". A flag officer's junior officer is often known as "Flags".[citation needed] Flag Officers in the Royal Navy are considered as Rear-Admirals and above.[8]
Equivalent ranks in theBritish Army andRoyal Marines are calledgeneral officer rather than flag officers, and those in theRoyal Air Force (as well as the rank ofair commodore) are calledair officers, although all are entitled to fly flags of rank.[citation needed]
Captain was the highest rank in theUnited States Navy from its beginning in 1775 until 1857. The early US republic felt that the title Admiral was "too royal" for a country without a king.[9] By 1852, the Navy had the ranks of Captain, Senior Captain and Commander-in-Chief of a Squadron.[10]
From at least the early 1800s, commodores flew broad pennants as a sign of their command, an early example of this wasCommodore William Bainbridge who flew one from his command theUSS President in 1808.[1]. These pennants were usually swallow-tailed and blue after the tradition of the British Royal Navy.[11]
In 1857,Congress created the temporary rank of flag officer, which was bestowed on senior Navycaptains who were assigned to lead a squadron of vessels in addition to command of their own ship.[12] This temporary usage gave way to the permanent ranks of commodore and rear admiral in 1862. The 1857 regulations allowed for a solid color rectangular flag to indicate a flag officer - blue represented the senior flag officer, red for the next most senior if two or more were present and white the third most senior.[13] Otherwise a flag officer flew a blue flag and this would continue for Commodores until 1865.
| US Navy Flag Officer Flags 1857-1865[13] | ||
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
US Navy Senior Flag Officer (later Commodore) 1857-1865 | US Navy First Subordinate Flag Officer (later Commodore) 1857-1865 | US Navy Second Most Subordinate Flag Officer (later Commodore) 1857-1865 |
Arguably the most famous naval figure of the US Civil War,David Farragut, was one of the first Flag Officers and in 1862 after capturing New Orleans, Congress made him aRear Admiral.[14] After theBattle of Mobile Bay he was made aVice Admiral and finally after the war ended a fullAdmiral.
In 1865, the Navy regulations specified the flags of Vice and Rear Admirals. A Vice admiral was to have a blue flag with three white stars arranged in an equilateral triangle and a Rear admiral will have two stars arranged vertically. And a Commodore's broad pennant will hold one white star on a blue pennant.[15]
| US Navy Flag Officer's Flags 1865 Regulations | ||
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Vice Admiral's Flag 1865 Navy Regulations | Rear Admiral's Flag 1865 Navy Regulations | Commodore's Broad Pennant 1865 Navy Regulations |
From 1865 until 1915 no officer was promoted to Admiral except in special circumstances. The Congress felt that the rank of Admiral was a reward for gallantry in battle and not something the country should enshrine permanently.[16] After the Civil War, there were only two men promoted to Admiral -George Dewey in 1899 andDavid Porter in 1870.
For a brief time, between 1870 and 1876, the Navy dropped the easy to recognize system of stars on flags, for the more complex flags of 13 stripes (resembling thefirst Navy Jack) and stars.[17]
| US Navy Flag Officer's Flags 1870 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
The 1876 Signal Book showed that there was a four stars in a diamond shape Admiral's flag (for Porter) as well as red and white flags for both Rear Admirals and Commodores to indicate subordinates as with the previous Flag Officer flags of 1857.[18]
| US Navy Flag Officer's Flags 1876 Regulations[18] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | | | |
Admiral's Flag 1876 Navy Regulations | Vice Admiral's Flag 1876 Navy Regulations | Rear Admiral's Flag 1876 Navy Regulations | Commodore's Broad Pennant 1876 Navy Regulations |
 |  | ||
Rear Admiral First Subordinate's Flag 1876 Regulations | Commodore First Subordinate's Broad Pennant 1876 Regulations | ||
.svg) |  | ||
Rear Admiral Second Subordinate's Flag 1876 Regulations | Commodore Second Subordinate's Broad Pennant 1876 Regulations | ||
In 1903 the War Department first authorized flags for US Army general officers. The first flags were "boat flags" for when army officers visited navy ships. By 1923, these flags were expanded so that they were also for use on automobiles and field or office flags. Line officers were to have a scarlet flag with one to four stars based on rank. Staff officers flags would be in the colors of their branch with one or two stars and their branch insignia.[19]
| US Army General Officers Field / Office Flags 1923 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Brigadier General's Flag 1923 | Major General's Flag 1926 | Lieutenant General's Flag 1923 | General's Flag 1923 |
 |  |  |  |
Adjutant Generals Corps Major General's Flag 1923 | Air Corps Brigadier General's Flag 1923 | Chemical Corps Brigadier General's Flag 1923 | Coastal Artillery Corps Major General's Flag 1923 |
 |  |  |  |
Engineer Corps Brigadier General's Flag 1923 | Finance Corps Major General's Flag 1923 | General Staff Corps Major General's Flag 1923 | Inspector General Corps Brigadier General's Flag 1923 |
 |  |  |  |
Bureau of Insular Affairs Major General's Flag 1923 | Judge Advocate Corps Brigadier General's Flag 1923 | Militia Bureau Major General's Flag 1923 | Medical Department Brigadier General's Flag 1923 |
 |  | ||
Quartermaster Corps Brigadier General's Flag 1923 | Signal Corps Major General's Flag 1923 | ||
In the 1920s, the Marine Corps first gave a flag to their commandant who was, at the time a major general.[20][21] In 1942 it was redesigned to reflect that their commandant was now a lieutenant general[22] and again in 1945 when their commandant was a full general.[23] The 1945 design would last until at least the early Cold War era when it would be replaced by the current design.[24]
| Flag Officer flags of the Commandant of the Marine Corps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Flag of the Commandant of the Marine Corps 1920s | Flag of the Commandant of the Marine Corps 1942 | Flag of the Commandant of the Marine Corps 1945 | Flag of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Present Day |
In 1934, theUS Coast & Geodetic Survey created a new director's flag with a white triangle representing the C&GS and two white stars representing a Rear Admiral.[25] In 1936,Raymond Patton became the first Director of the C&GS that was a Rear Admiral. In 1965, the C&GS madeHenry A. Karo the first Vice Admiral as the organization became theEnvironmental Science Services Administration Corps. Finally in 1985, the NOAA Corps like the other services split their Rear Admirals into a 2-star and 1-star version (Rear Admiral Lower Half).
| US NOAA Corps Flag Officer flags | ||
|---|---|---|
 | _Flag.png) | _Flag.png) |
NOAA Corps Vice Admiral's Flag 1965 | NOAA Corps Rear Admiral's Flag 1934 | NOAA Corps Rear Admiral Lower Half's Flag 1985 |
In 1940, the Navy dropped the red and white subordinate flags for Rear Admirals and Commodores.[26] And in 1944 when the Navy created the rank of Fleet Admiral, they also authorized a new blue flag with five white stars arranged in a pentagon shape.[27] The most recent change was in 1948, when the Chief of Naval Operations created white flags for non-line officers such as medical, supply, chaplains, engineers, etc. The new flags would be for ranks of Rear Admiral (Lower Half) through Admiral.Commodore rank was retired in 1948 as was an future promotions toFleet Admiral. Both Rear Admiral (Lower Half) and Rear Admirals used a two-star flag.[26]
| US Navy Flag Officer's Flags 1948 Regulations[26] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | | | | |
Fleet Admiral Flag (still in use in 1948) but no further promotions were authorized. | Admiral's Flag 1948 Navy Regulations | Vice Admiral's Flag 1948 Navy Regulations | Rear Admiral's Flag 1948 Navy Regulations | Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Flag 1948 Navy Regulations |
.svg) | .svg) | | | |
Admiral's Flag Restricted Line Officer / Staff Officer 1948 Navy Regulations | Vice Admiral's Flag Restricted Line Officer / Staff Officer 1948 Navy Regulations | Rear Admiral's Flag 1948 Restricted Line Officer / Staff Officer Navy Regulations | Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Flag Restricted Line Officer / Staff Officer 1948 Navy Regulations | |
Near the end of World War II, the Army and the Navy created five-starGeneral of the Army andFleet Admiral ranks. This was mainly to keep the American commanders from being "outranked" by British Field Marshalls and Admirals of the Fleet. The rank was authorize by Congress in 1944 and made "permanent" in 1946. GeneralHenry H. Arnold was madeGeneral of the Air Force in 1947 having already been a General of the Army since 1944. The flags are no longer in use since the death ofGeneral Omar Bradley in 1981.
| 5-Star Flag Officer Flags | ||
|---|---|---|
 | |  |
General of the Army Flag 1944 | Admiral of the Fleet Flag 1944 | General of the Air Force Flag 1947 |
At about the same time, the US Coast Guard was also developing new flags for their Admirals. The USCG had expanded greatly during World War II and was in the post-war was allowed a full admiral for itscommandant. Before the war there are no reliable records as to whether the few Rear Admirals the USCG had were allowed flag officer flags or not. In 1945 the Coast Guard took the flags of the US Navy's admirals and added a white version of their official seal over crossed anchors.[28]
| US Coast Guard Flag Officer's Flags 1945 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | |
US Coast Guard Commandant's Flag 1945 | US Coast Guard Vice Commandant's Flag 1945 | US Coast Guard Rear Admiral's Flag 1945 | US Coast Guard Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Flag 1945 |
In 1947, the US Air Force changed from the flags of the Army Air Force to the white on blue flags that they still use today and the first officer to get one was Harry "Hap" Arnold who was the General of the Air Force a five-star general.[29]
| US Air Force General Officer Flags 1947 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|  |  |  |  |
Air Force General of the Air Force Flag 1947 | Air Force General Flag 1947 | Air Force Lieutenant General Flag 1947 | Air Force Major General Flag 1947 | Air Force Brigadier General Flag 1947 |
In 1979, the US Coast Guard created a flag for the Commandant and the Vice Commandant that were similar to the Chief of Naval Operations and Vice Chief of Naval Operations. And then in 1985, both the Navy and the USCG changed Rear Admiral Lower Half to one star to match the O-7 Brigadier General ranks of the other services.[30] In 2016, the USCG made the first Vice Commandant full admiral and thus a four-star Vice Commandant flag.[31]
| US Coast Guard Flag Officer's Flags 1985[30] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  | | | | .svg) |
USCG Commandant's Flag 1979 | USCG Vice Commandant's Flag 1979 | US Coast Guard Admiral's Flag 1985 | US Coast Guard Vice Admiral's Flag 1985 | US Coast Guard Rear Admiral's Flag 1985 | US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Lower Half's Flag 1985 |
The term "flag officer" is still in use today, explicitly defined as an officer of the U.S. Navy or Coast Guard serving in or having the grade of admiral, vice admiral, rear admiral, or rear admiral (lower half),[32] equivalent to general officers of an army.
In the United StatesArmy,Air Force, andMarine Corps, the term "flag officer" generally is applied to all general officers authorized to fly their owncommand flags—i.e.,brigadier general, or pay grade O-7, and above.[33][34] As a matter of law,Title 10 of the United States Code makes a distinction between general officers and flag officers (general officer for the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force; flag officer for the Navy and Coast Guard).[32] Non-naval officers usually fly their flags from their headquarters, vessels, or vehicles, typically only for the most senior officer present.[35][36]
In the United States all flag and general officers must be nominated by thePresident and confirmed by theSenate. Each subsequent promotion requires renomination and re-approval. For the Navy, each flag officer assignment is usually limited to a maximum of two years, followed by eitherreassignment, reassignment and promotion, or retirement.[37]
The chiefs of the various US military services have their own flags. The US Army was the first to develop a special flag for the Chief of Staff of the US Army in 1917.[38] The Navy created a flag for the Chief of Naval Operations in 1964.[39] The Air Force redesigned their Chief of Staff's flag in 1977.[40] The Coast Guard Commandant received a new design (similar to the CNO) in 1979.[30] And the Space Force Chief of Space Operations got a flag quickly in 2020.[41]
| Flags of the Service Chief Flag Officers of the United States | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | |  |
Flag of the Chief of Staff US Army 1917 | Flag of the Chief of Naval Operations 1964 | Flag of the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force 1977 | Flag of the Commandant of the US Coast Guard 1979 | Flag of the Chief of Space Operations 2020 |
Beginning in 1949 with the US Army[42] their deputies (or vice chiefs) began to also get a distinctive flag of office. In 2015, the USCG had its first full admiral Vice Commandant.
| Flags of the Vice Service Chief Flag Officers of the United States | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  |
Flag of the Vice Chief of Staff US Army 1949 | Flag of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations 1970 | Flag of the Vice Chief of Staff of the US Air Force 1977 | Flag of the Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard 2015 | Flag of the Vice Chief of Space Operations 2020 |
The first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Omar Bradley had a special flag created for the CJCS in 1950.[43] The CJCS' deputy would get a flag in 1986.[44]
| Flags of the Joint Chiefs of Staff flag officers | |
|---|---|
 |  |
Flag of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1950 | Flag of the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1986 |
Flag Officer. An officer of the rank of Rear-Admiral or above.
Flag Officer. An officer of the rank of Rear-Admiral or above.
| By star ranks | |
|---|---|
| By titles |
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