Personal Flags
Officers with certain offices or billets, as well as all generals and admirals, have a personal flag assigned to represent their authority and/or command; thus why they are often referred to as "flag officers". Ashore, they are usually displayed within the owner's office or raised on a secondary flagstaff near the unit colors; while they are flown aboard ship according to rank. The appearance consists of a number of stars equal to the officer's rank insignia, the colors determined by service: red with white stars for the Army and Marine Corps, blue with white stars for Naval commanders and Air Force. Certain staff and non-line officers have unique colors: white with blue stars for non-command Navy admirals, while Army chaplains and medical generals use ecclesiastical purple and maroon backgrounds, respectively.
Unique flags are given to the President (due to his position as Commander-in-Chief), Vice President, Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary of Defense, Under Secretaries of Defense, and Assistant Secretaries of Defense, each of the Secretaries of the Military Departments (Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Air Force), Under Secretaries of the Military Departments (Under Secretary of the Army, Under Secretary of the Navy, Under Secretary of the Air Force), and Assistant Secretaries of the Military Departments (Assistant Secretary of the Army, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Senior Enlisted Advisor of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chief of the Military Services (Chief of Staff of the Army, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Chief of Naval Operations, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Commandant of the Coast Guard). An admiral, acting commodore, or Convoy Commodore aboard a ship each may fly a flag from their flagship.
In addition, the Navy will display the flag of the Secretary of State when he or she is embarked as the representative of the United States. Other diplomatic personnel are also afforded a consular flag when embarked. The Coast Guard, being part of the Department of Homeland Security, will utilize the Secretary's flag much like the Navy will utilize the SecDef's.
Read more about this topic: Flags Of The United States Armed Forces
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