(Redirected from Flag Officer)
A 'flag officer' is a
naval officer of sufficient rank that is permitted to fly a
flag to represent where they exercise command. Typically, usage of the term "flag officer" refers to the senior officers in a nation's
navy, specifically those who hold the rank of
commodore,
admiral, or higher.
General usage
The generic title of flag officer is used in several modern navies to denote those who hold the rank of
rear admiral (or its equivalent) and above, also called "flag ranks"; in some navies, this also includes the rank of
commodore. Flag officer corresponds to the generic terms
general officer (used by land and some air forces to describe all grades of generals) and
air officer (used by other air forces to describe all grades of
air marshals and
air commodores). The term flag officer is only commonly used for naval officers. However, the term can apply to general officers in the
US Army,
US Air Force and
US Marine Corps, as those officers are permitted to fly their own flags as well.
A flag officer generally has an officer, called a
flag lieutenant or a
flag adjutant, attached to him as a personal
adjutant (like an
aide-de-camp) regardless of any staff under his command. In the Royal Navy, this officer is often known as "Flags".
Canada
In the
Canadian Forces, a flag officer (
French: ''Officier général'', "general officer") is the naval equivalent of a
General Officer of the army or air force, and comprises the ranks of
Commodore,
Rear-Admiral,
Vice-Admiral, and
Admiral. 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 gold maple leafs over crossed sword and baton, all beneath a royal crown, on slip-ons or epaulets; and two rows of gold oak leaves on the peak of the service cap.
United Kingdom
In the
Royal Navy there is a distinction between "flag officer" and "officer of flag rank". All rear admirals and above are officers of flag rank, but only those officers of flag rank who are authorised to fly a flag are called "flag officers", and have different flags for different ranks of
admiral. Thus, of the 39 officers of flag rank in the Royal Navy in 2006, very few are "flag officers" with entitlement to fly a flag. For example,
Commander-in-Chief Fleet flies an admiral's flag whether ashore or afloat and is, therefore, a "flag officer"; his chief of staff (support), a rear admiral, is not entitled to fly a flag and is, therefore, only an "officer of flag rank".
In
United Kingdom usage, equivalent ranks in the
British Army and
Royal Marines are called
general officers, and those in the
Royal Air Force are called
air officers
United States
In the 19th century, flag officer was also an actual rank of the
United States Navy and, during the
American Civil War, the
Confederate Navy. The rank of flag officer was bestowed on senior Navy
captains who were assigned to lead a squadron of vessels in addition to command of their own ship. The 19th century rank of flag officer was considered strictly temporary and became obsolete upon the creation and widespread usage of the equivalent naval rank of
commodore.
"Flag officer" currently refers to officers
O-7 (rear admiral lower half) and above. In the United States, all flag officers must be nominated by the
President and confirmed by the
Senate; each subsequent promotion requires renomination and reapproval.
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
