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Navy - Command and Commissioning Pennants (U.S.)

Overview
Commissioning Pennant
Homeward Bound Pennant
Command Pennants

See also:

Overview

U.S. Navy Regulations, article 1259, provides that every U.S. Navy ship in commission flies one of four types of "distinctive marks" at all times, from the moment it is commissioned until the moment it is decommissioned: a commission pennant, the personal flag of a flag officer, a command pennant, or (for hospital ships) the Geneva Convention red cross flag.
Joe McMillan, 6 September 1999

Commissioning Pennant

by Joe McMillan, 24 August 1999

Description: Blue at the hoist (one quarter the length of the pennant) with seven evenly spaced white stars. The remainder divided horizontally red over white. The original design had 13 rather than 7 stars, but the number was reduced as the length of the pennant was shortened over the years. At one time, the pennant could measure as much as 70 feet.

Dimensions: In two sizes: Size 6 measures 72 inches long, 2.5 inches wide at the hoist and 0.5 inches at the fly, with a 9-inch swallowtail. Size 7 measures 48 inches in length, 1.875 inches at the hoist and 0.375 inches at the fly, with a 6-inch swallowtail.

The hoisting of the commission pennant is considered the key moment in the commissioning of a ship. Once hoisted, it flies continuously, night and day, except when displaced by an admiral's flag, a command pennant, or the flag of a senior civilian official as directed by U.S. Navy Regulations.

Although not a personal flag as such, the USN uses the commission pennant as the symbol of the commanding officer of a ship. It is depicted on his/her personal stationery, is half-masted if he/she dies aboard ship, and is carried on a staff, draped in black mourning, before his/her casket in the funeral procession. The last commanding officer is allowed to keep the commission pennant when a ship is decommissioned.

The ceremonies for commissioning and decommissioning a U.S. Navy warship call for the hoisting of the ensign, jack, and commission pennant as the first act after the new captain reads the commissioning order, and as the final act before the last captain declares the ship decommissioned.

Joe McMillan, 24 August 1999

The size of these pennants has been reduced so much that they're practically invisible. The large size in the USN is 2 1/2 inches wide and six feet long, not the easiest thing to find at the top of the mainmast of an aircraft carrier! In the days of sail, the U.S. commission pennant for a ship of the line was 100 feet long, rather easier to see. Even on a stealth basis, these are quite relevant flag objects--especially to the captains of the ships whose command they symbolize.
Joe McMillan