Modern Use
The First Navy Jack was first used in recent history during the Bicentennial year, 1976, when all commissioned naval vessels were directed to fly it for the entire year, in lieu of the standard fifty-star jack.
In 1980, Edward Hidalgo, the Secretary of the Navy, directed that the ship with the longest active status shall display the First Navy Jack until decommissioned or transferred to inactive service. Then the flag will be passed to the next ship in line. The order disregards the USS Constitution, which will not display the flag. This honor was conferred on the following U.S. Navy vessels:
- 1981–1982: Destroyer tender USS Dixie (AD-14), commissioned 1940
- 1982–1993: Destroyer tender USS Prairie (AD-15), commissioned 1940
- 1993–1993: Submarine tender USS Orion (AS-18), commissioned 1943
- 1993–1995: Repair Ship USS Jason (AR-8), commissioned 1944
- 1995–1995: Ammunition ship USS Mauna Kea (AE-22), commissioned 1957
- 1995–1998: Aircraft carrier USS Independence (CV-62), commissioned 1959
- 1998–2009: Aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), commissioned in 1961
- 2009–present: Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), commissioned 1961
Following a post-9/11 suggestion from retired Captain Brayton Harris (who in 1975-76 had been special assistant to the secretary of the navy for the bicentennial), the secretary of the navy issued Instruction 10520.6, dated 31 May 2002, directing all navy ships to fly the First Naval Jack as a "temporary substitution" for the Jack of the United States "during the Global War on Terrorism". Most vessels made the switch on September 11, 2002, the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
This flag, along with the Serapis flag, is also featured on the crest of the USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53).
First Navy Jack patches have been worn on the camouflage uniforms of sailors fighting in the war on terror.
Some U.S. military personnel, particularly special operations personnel, have worn embroidered patches of the First Navy Jack on their body armor, backpacks, and other personal equipment.
Read more about this topic: First Navy Jack
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“In my experience, if you have to keep the lavatory door shut by extending your left leg, it’s modern architecture.”
—Nancy Banks-Smith, British columnist. Guardian (London, February 20, 1979)
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—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)