Flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation ' s armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which 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 US usage it is additionally applied to Coast Guard officers and general officer s in the Army , Air Force , and Marine Corps entitled to fly their own flags . General usage . The generic title of flag officer is used in several modern navies and associated units to denote those who hold the rank of rear admiral ( or its equivalent ) and above , also called " flag ranks " ; in some navies , this also includes the rank of commodore . Flag officer corresponds to the generic terms general officer ( used by land and some air forces to describe all grades of generals ) and air officer ( used by other air forces to describe all grades of air marshals and air commodores ) . A flag officer sometimes has a junior officer , called a flag lieutenant or flag adjutant , attached as a personal adjutant or aide - de - camp . Canada . In the Canadian Forces , a flag officer ( French : " officier général " , " general officer " ) is an admiral , vice - admiral , rear - admiral , or commodore , the naval equivalent of a general officer of the army or air force . It is a somewhat counterintuitive usage of the term , as only flag officers in command of commands or formations actually have their own flags ( technically a commodore has only a broad pennant , not a flag ) , and army and air force generals in command of commands or formations also have their own flags , but are not called flag officers . Base commanders , usually full colonels , also have a pennant that flies from the mast or flagpole on the base , when resident , or on vehicles that carry them . A flag officer ' s rank is denoted by a wide strip of gold braid on the cuff of the service dress tunic ; one to four gold maple leaves over a crossed sword and baton , all beneath a royal crown , on epaulette s and shoulder board s ; and two rows of gold oak leaves on the peak of the service cap . Since the Unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968 , a flag officer ' s dress tunic had a single broad stripe on the sleeve and epaulettes . On May 5 , 2010 , however , the naval uniform dark dress tunic was adjusted — exterior epaulettes were removed , reverting to the sleeve ring and executive curl - rank insignia used by most navies ; commodore s ' uniforms display a broad stripe , and each succeeding rank receives an additional sleeve ring . There are no epaulettes on the exterior of the tunic , but they are still worn on the uniform shirt underneath . United Kingdom . In the Royal Navy , there is a distinction between " flag officer " and " officer of flag rank " . Formerly all officers promoted to flag rank were considered to be " flag officers " and the term is still widely used to refer to any officer of flag rank . Present usage is that all rear - admirals and above are officers of flag rank , but only those officers of flag rank who are authorised to fly a flag are formally called " flag officers " , and have different flags for different ranks of admiral . Of the 39 officers of flag rank in the Royal Navy in 2006 , very few were " flag officers " with entitlement to fly a flag . For example , Commander - in - Chief Fleet flies an admiral ' s flag whether ashore or afloat and is a " flag officer " ; the chief of staff ( support ) , a rear admiral , is not entitled to fly a flag and is an " officer of flag rank " rather than a " flag officer " . List of fleets and major commands of the Royal Navy lists most admirals who were " flag officers " . A flag officer ' s junior officer is often known as " Flags " . Equivalent ranks in the British Army and Royal Marines are called general officer rather than flag officers , and those in the Royal Air Force ( as well as the rank of air commodore ) are called air officer s , although all are entitled to fly flags of rank . United States . In 1857 Congress created the title of " flag officer " as an actual rank of the Navy . The rank of flag officer was bestowed on senior navy captains who were assigned to lead a squadron of vessels in addition to command of their own ship . During the American Civil War , the Confederate States Navy also used the term . The 19th - century rank of " flag officer " was considered strictly temporary and became obsolete upon the creation and widespread usage of the equivalent naval rank of commodore ; however , the term is still in use today to denote a category of naval officers equivalent to general officers . In 1862 Congress authorized American use of the title " admiral " . In the U . S . Army , Air Force , and Marine Corps , the term " flag officer " generally is applied to all general officers authorized to fly their own command flags — i . e . , Brigadier General , or rank O - 7 , and above . However , as a matter of law , Title 10 of the United States Code makes a distinction between general officers and flag officers . Non - naval officers usually fly their flags from their headquarters , vessels , or vehicles , typically only for the most senior officer present . In the United States all flag and general officers must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate ; each subsequent promotion requires renomination and re - approval . For the Navy , flag officer tours are usually limited to two - years .