NAO
201-6
NAO 201-6 - Issued 04/01/02; Effective
04/18/02
OFFICIAL FLAGS OF NOAA
SECTION 1. PURPOSE.
.01 This Order describes the types and uses of official
flags of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and indicates the authorized national, Department
of Commerce (DOC), and NOAA flags and pennants for
use at official ceremonies and occasions. Additionally,
this Order specifies and describes those occasions
when the rendering of honors is customary or appropriate,
and prescribes procedures for displaying or flying
in certain ceremonies established by usage and custom
for social and interagency official contacts.
.02 This is a complete revision and
update to the Order. Major changes include: adding
the NOAA Commissioned
Corps flag; delineating and differentiating between
the terms “display” and “fly”;
and updating titles of various officials and organizations.
SECTION 2. SCOPE.
.01 In addition to the flag of the United States,
only those flags that are authorized by Department
Administrative Order (DAO) 201-6, Official Flags of
the Department, and whose procedures for displaying
or flying are covered in this Order, are authorized
for use by the organizations and officials of NOAA.
.02 Section 3 of The NOAA Visual Communications Handbook
illustrates national flags and flagstaff toppings and
the authorized DOC, NOAA, and NOAA Corps flags and
pennants.
SECTION 3. POLICY.
.01 Personal Flags. The following officials of NOAA
are authorized, through DAO 201-6, to display or fly
personal flags:
a. Under Secretary/Administrator. This flag shall
depict four (4) white stars superimposed on the NOAA
service flag, one in each corner of the flag.
b. Assistant Secretary/Deputy Administrator. This
flag shall depict four (4) red stars superimposed on
the NOAA service flag, one in each corner of the flag.
c. Chief Scientist. The flag shall depict three (3)
red stars on the NOAA service flag arranged vertically
on the staff side of the flag.
d. Flag Officers, NOAA. The flag of a vice admiral
in the NOAA Commissioned Corps shall depict a triangle
(base down) in white, on a blue field, with three five-pointed
stars in white, arranged vertically on the staff side
of the flag. The flag for the old grade of rear admiral
(upper
half) and the new grade of rear admiral shall depict
a triangle (base down) in white, on a blue field, with
two five-pointed stars in white, one opposite each
side of the triangle. The flag of a rear admiral (lower
half) appointed before November 8, 1985, shall depict
a triangle (base down) in blue, on a white field, with
two five-pointed stars in blue, one opposite each side
of the triangle. The flag of a rear admiral (lower
half) appointed on or after November 8, 1985, shall
depict a triangle (base down) in white, on a blue field,
with one five-pointed star in blue, centered in the
triangle.
1. Public Law 99-145 changed the grade of commodore
back to its former grade of rear admiral (lower half)
but retained the one-star insignia of the 0-7 grade.
2. Retired flag officers are authorized to display
or fly personal flags at ceremonies appropriate for
official observance. (Refer to Section 3.01d. of this
Order for the appropriate flag.)
e. DOC Officials. Flags shall be appropriately displayed
or flown for the Secretary of Commerce, Deputy Secretary,
Under Secretaries and the General Counsel, Assistant
Secretaries, and others.
.02 NOAA Service Flags.
a. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The flag depicts a triangle (base down) in red, within
a white circle on a blue field, with the NOAA emblem
superimposed on the triangle. This flag is displayed
or flown at all NOAA installations where proper arrangements
exist, and aboard NOAA ships.
b. Commission Pennant, NOAA Ships. A union of red
triangles (bases down) on a white field, one-fourth
the length of the pennant, the remaining three-fourths
of its length to be blue. This pennant is flown by
NOAA ships or craft in commission.
c. NOAA Commissioned Corps. The flag
of the NOAA Commissioned Corps shall depict a full
globe, surmounted by a spread
eagle, facing dexter. The breast of the eagle carries
a shield and the globe is superimposed on crossed fouled
anchors. The globe, eagle, and anchors are white, superimposed
on a red triangle. The triangle is centered within
a white circle with “NOAA COMMISSIONED CORPS” arranged
around the upper half of the circle in blue lettering.
The year “1917" is centered around the bottom
half of the circle in blue letters. One blue star is
placed at each side of the base of the red triangle
on the outer ring of the circle. The white circle is
centered on a blue field. The flag is displayed in
accordance with the customs and traditions of the flags
of Uniformed Services.
.03 Flags of the United States.
a. NOAA officials authorized to display, in their
respective offices, the flag of the United States procured
at public expense are identified in Section 3.01 of
this Order.
b. The Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator
may authorize the procurement of U.S. flags for display
in the offices of key NOAA officials, including those
who serve in geographic locations separate from headquarters
as the principal representatives of NOAA.
c. The Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator,
or persons designated by him/her, may authorize the
procurement of U.S. flags for display where official
events take place, such as oath taking or public hearings,
which make the presence of the flag particularly appropriate,
and for display in public places in keeping with the
honor and respect due the national colors.
SECTION 4. PROCEDURES.
.01 Distinctive Marks. The distinctive marks of a
NOAA ship in commission are the NOAA service flag and
the commission pennant, or the personal flag of a NOAA
official or of a DOC official. Not more than one distinctive
mark other than the service flag shall be flown simultaneously.
The distinctive marks shall be flown day and night,
except on occasions of ceremony described elsewhere
within Section 4. of this Order. The commission pennant
or personal flag shall be flown from a short standard
hoisted to the main truck and the service flag shall
be flown from the fore truck on ships having two masts.
On ships having one mast, the commission pennant or
personal flag and service flag shall be flown at the
same masthead with the personal flag or commission
pennant uppermost. During periods when a ship is dressed
or full dressed, these flags and pennants shall be
flown as described under Section 4.07 of this Order.
.02 Underway. All vessels, when underway, shall fly
the national ensign at the gaff from 0800 to sunset
except when at sea when no land or vessel is in sight.
Unless there are sufficient reasons to the contrary,
the colors shall be set even though it is before 0800
or after sunset if there is sufficient light for them
to be seen: when getting underway or coming to anchor
when entering or leaving port; when passing, meeting,
joining, or parting from other government vessels;
when falling in with a vessel at sea; when required
to establish identity by patrol aircraft; and when
approaching or passing towns, forts, naval stations,
lighthouses, and light vessels. If a NOAA ship enters
a port other than the home port or usual operating
port during the night, colors shall be made at daylight
for a short period to enable the authorities of the
port and government vessels present to determine her
nationality. When arriving in port after daylight but
before 0800 and after keeping the colors up long enough
for the port authorities to recognize them, they shall
be hauled down and made again at 0800 in the usual
manner.
.03 In Port. When in port whether at anchor or alongside,
the national ensign and the union jack shall be hoisted
at 0800 and hauled down at sunset. The union jack shall
be flown from the jack staff from Morning to Evening
Colors. At Morning Colors, the union jack shall be
hoisted after the ensign has been hoisted and set.
At Evening Colors, this procedure shall be reversed.
In foreign ports, the flag of the host nation is not
flown aboard a commissioned ship of the United States.
.04 Boat Flag. The national ensign will be used as
a boat flag by all commissioned officers.
.05 Official DOC Personnel On Board a NOAA Vessel.
When a DOC official for whom a flag is authorized is
on board a vessel belonging to DOC, the official's
flag shall be flown. When two or more such officials
visit a vessel at the same time, only the flag of the
higher ranking official shall be flown. When the flag
of a secretarial officer is hoisted on a vessel, it
may be larger but shall not be smaller than the service
flag flown. Personal flags of other officials when
flown may be smaller but shall not be larger than the
service flag flown.
.06 Morning and Evening Colors.
a. In port, the ceremonial hoisting or lowering of
the national ensign at 0800 and at sunset aboard a
NOAA ship not underway shall be known as the Morning
Colors and Evening Colors, respectively.
b. The officer of the deck with the day's duty or
the quartermaster on watch shall perform the ceremonial
hoisting of Morning Colors and the lowering during
Evening Colors at sunset.
c. When in the presence of a Navy or Coast Guard vessel,
Morning and Evening Color ceremonies shall be conducted
in unison following their lead. When they perform these
ceremonies to music, the officer of the deck shall
be governed thereby and dispense with oral or other
signals.
d. A boat underway within sight or hearing of a color
ceremony shall lay to or proceed at the slowest safe
speed. The officer or coxswain in charge of the boat
shall remain seated or standing and shall not salute.
e. During periods of official mourning when the national
ensign is required to be flown at half-mast, it shall
first be hoisted to the peak at Morning and Evening
Colors before setting at half-mast or hauling down.
.07 Dressing and Full Dressing Ship.
a. When a ship of the NOAA fleet is in port and the
occasion calls for dressing ship, the largest national
ensign available on board shall be flown from the flagstaff
aft, the union jack from the jack staff, and a national
ensign or other flag shall be flown from each masthead
as described in the following.
1. On a ship with one mast, a national ensign is flown
at the truck, the NOAA service flag at the starboard
yardarm, and a personal flag, if flown, at the starboard
yardarm inboard.
2. On a ship with two masts, the national ensign is
flown at the main truck, the NOAA service flag at the
fore truck, and personal flags, if flown, at the starboard
yardarm.
3. On ships with a commanding officer, if a personal
flag is not flown, the NOAA commission pennant shall
be flown at the main or fore truck above the national
ensign.
4. The ensigns or flags flown at mastheads shall be
the same size if masts are equal in height; otherwise,
they shall conform to the difference in heights of
the mastheads. The union jack shall be approximately
equal in size to that of the union of the national
ensign at the flagstaff but not significantly larger
than any other ensign flown.
b. When in port and the occasion requires full dressing
of the ship, in addition to the dressing of mastheads,
a rainbow of signal flags, arranged no more than three
(3) feet apart so as to give the most pleasing color
distribution, shall be flown reaching from the foot
of the jack staff to the mastheads, thence to the foot
of the flagstaff. Every fourth flag in line should
be a pennant. Ships without masts shall make a display
as little modified from the rainbow effect as is practicable.
c. When half-masting of the national ensign is required
on occasions of dressing or full dressing ship, only
the ensign at the flagstaff and the union jack shall
be half-masted.
d. The following additional rules concerning dressing
or full dressing ship in port shall be observed.
1. On President's Day (formerly Washington's Birthday)
and Independence Day, all NOAA ships in commission
shall full dress ship at 0800 and remain so dressed
until sunset. When weather or other circumstances render
this inadvisable in the opinion of the commanding officer,
dressing may be substituted for full dressing.
2. On Memorial Day, ships shall not be dressed but
the national ensign shall be at half-mast from 0800
to 1220.
3. On all other national holidays, ships may be dressed
at the discretion of the commanding officer if no other
vessels are present. If other U.S. or foreign government
ships in sight are dressed, the NOAA ship shall also
be dressed.
e. When holidays on which full dressing is required
fall on Sunday, the ceremonies shall be postponed until
the following day.
f. When President's Day and Independence Day occur
during a period of mourning, the mourning shall be
suspended and the ceremonies observed.
g. Vessels may participate in celebrating local holidays
and festivals by dressing or full dressing ship and
joining in other ceremonies, including ship parades,
provided there is no interference with regular duties.
.08 Inspection by Officials Ranking a Personal Flag.
If on a ship with one mast, the personal flag of the
ranking individual shall be hoisted to the truck the
instant the official steps on deck and flown there
until the individual leaves. If on a two-masted ship,
it shall be hoisted to the main truck. If the official
visit occurs during a ceremony requiring the national
ensign to be flown at those places, the personal flag
shall be shifted to the starboard yardarm or the fore
truck.
.09 Official Mourning.
a. Upon the death of a United States civil official,
the national ensign shall be half-masted from the day
of death for the periods indicated below:
1. President, ex-President, or President-elect - 30
days;
2. Vice President, Chief Justice, retired Chief Justice
or Speaker of the House of Representatives - 10 days;
and
3. an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, a former
Vice President, a member of the Cabinet, Secretary
of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the
Air Force, the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, an Under
Secretary of Commerce, Assistant Secretary of Commerce
or Administrator - until sunset of the day of interment.
b. Upon the death of an official of a particular state,
territory, or possession, all ships or establishments
located in the area represented shall half-mast the
national ensign from the day of death as follows:
1. Governor of a state, territory, or possession -
until interment; and
2. United States Senator, Representative, Territorial
Delegate, or Resident Commissioner from the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico - until interment.
c. Upon the death of a commissioned officer or vessel
employee, the national ensign on the vessel to which
attached shall be half-masted from 0800 on the day
of death to sunset on the day of the funeral. At observatories
or other shore establishments, the national ensign
shall be half-masted from the beginning of the funeral
until sunset of that day.
d. When the national ensign is half-masted, the union
jack shall also be half-masted.
e. When an officer or vessel employee of a NOAA ship
dies, the following will be observed:
1. a national ensign should be furnished to be used
for draping a casket whenever requested; and
2. during burial at sea, the national ensign shall
be half-masted during daylight hours from 0800 until
the body has been committed to the deep.
.10 Flag Sizes. The flag sizes listed in Attachment
1 to this Order are to be used for display or flying
in accordance with the outlined requirements.
.11 Flagstaff Topping (Office and Vehicle Display).
In displaying or flying either the national ensign
or personal flags as authorized, the following flagstaff
topping (gold color) relative to rank/position shall
be used.
a. Members of the Cabinet and Above - a spread eagle.
b. NOAA Under Secretary/Administrator, and under secretaries,
and assistant secretaries down through rear admirals
(lower half) and Senior Executive Service - a halberd.
c. Captains and GS-15 - a ball.
d. The staff used for automobile flags shall be topped
by an acorn regardless of the rank of the official
or officer embarked.
.12 Sketches of Flagstaff Ornaments. See Attachment
2 to this Order.
SECTION 5. EFFECT ON OTHER ISSUANCES.
This Order supersedes NOAA Administrative Order 201-6
dated September 18, 1992.
signed
Chief
Financial Officer/Chief
Administrative Officer
Attachments:
- Attachment 1 - Flag Sizes
- Attachment
2 - Sketches of Flagstaff Ornaments
Office
of Primary Interest:
Office
of Marine and Aviation Operations
Program Services Division (OMAO3)
NAO 201-6 Attachment 1
FLAG SIZES
SHIPS
Type |
Size
No. |
Hoist |
Fly |
Remarks |
Ensign |
6 |
8.94
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions, Class I & II |
Ensign |
7 |
5.14
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions, Class III |
Ensign |
9 |
3.52
ft |
|
Everyday
Use, Class I, II, III |
Ensign |
9 |
3.52
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions, Class IV |
Ensign |
10 |
2.90
ft |
|
Everyday
Use, Class IV |
Jack |
6 |
4.81
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions, Class I & II |
Jack |
7 |
2.77
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions, Class III |
Jack |
9 |
1.90
ft |
|
Everyday
Use, Class I, II, III |
Jack |
9 |
1.90
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions, Class IV |
Jack |
10 |
1.56
ft |
|
Everyday
Use, Class IV |
Service |
2 |
3.60
ft |
5.13
ft |
Dress
Occasions, All Ships |
Service |
3 |
2.50
ft |
3.30
ft |
Everyday
Use, All Ships |
Pennant |
1 |
4-1/2in |
15-0
ft |
13
Triangles, Class I |
Pennant |
2 |
4
in |
9-0
ft |
7
Triangles, Class II & III |
Pennant |
4 |
2-1/2in |
4-0
ft |
7
Triangles, Class IV |
Inter.
Code |
6 |
|
|
All
Ships |
Personal |
2 |
3.60
ft |
5.13
ft |
All
Ships |
Ensign |
7 |
|
|
Casket
Draping, All Ships |
Marine Centers
Type |
Size
No. |
Hoist |
Fly |
Remarks |
Ensign |
6 |
8.94
ft |
|
Dress
Occasions |
Ensign |
7 |
5.14
ft |
|
Everyday
Use |
Ensign |
9 |
3.52
ft |
|
Storm |
Service |
2 |
3.60
ft |
5.13
ft |
Dress
& Everyday
Use |
Service |
3 |
2.50
ft |
3.30
ft |
Storm |
Personal |
2 |
3.60
ft |
5.13
ft |
Dress & Everyday
Use |
Personal |
3 |
2.50
ft |
3.50
ft |
Storm |
ANY NOAA FACILITY, INCLUDING MARINE CENTER
AND AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS CENTER
Type |
Size
No. |
Hoist |
Fly |
Remarks |
NOAA
Commiss'd Corps |
2 |
3.60 ft |
5.13 ft |
Everyday
Use |
|