A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually, but not exclusively, refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in some cases it applies also to those holding the rank of commodore. In U.S. usage it is additionally applied to Coast Guard officers and general officers in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps entitled to fly their own flags.
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Famous quotes containing the words flag and/or officer:
“There’s an enduring American compulsion to be on the side of the angels. Expediency alone has never been an adequate American reason for doing anything. When actions are judged, they go before the bar of God, where Mom and the Flag closely flank His presence.”
—Jonathan Raban (b. 1942)
“No officer should be required or permitted to take part in the management of political organizations, caucuses, conventions, or election campaigns. Their right to vote and to express their views on public questions, either orally or through the press, is not denied, provided it does not interfere with the discharge of their official duties. No assessment for political purposes on officers or subordinates should be allowed.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)