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 that officer exercises command.
63-586: Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: The generic title of flag officer is used in many modern navies and coast guards 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
126-512: A NATO ranking code of OF-7. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is major-general ; and in the Royal Air Force it is air vice-marshal . The rank originated in the 17th century, in the days of naval sailing squadrons when each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head. The admiral would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of
189-862: A gendarmerie force policing navigable rivers and lakes. They belonged to the Ministry of Defence until the 1980s, and the corps' highest official was a Navy rear-admiral. They have since been transferred to the Ministry of Interior and, more recently, to the newly created Ministry of Security. However, in the case of armed conflict, they can be put under the Navy's command. Responsibilities for traditional coast guard duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community volunteer agencies. Each State Government also has agencies with coast guard responsibilities. For example, in Queensland, Maritime Safety Queensland
252-432: A "flag officer" and an "officer of flag rank". Formerly, all officers promoted to flag rank were considered to be "flag officers". The term is still widely used to refer to any officer of flag rank. Present usage is that rear admirals and above are officers of flag rank, but only those officers who are authorised to fly a flag are formally called "flag officers" and have different flags for different ranks of admiral . Of
315-460: A heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy (a military service) and the transit police (a law enforcement agency), while in certain countries they have similarities to both. The predecessor of Britain's modern His Majesty's Coastguard
378-601: A matter of law, Title 10 of the United States Code makes a distinction between general officers and flag officers (general officer for the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force; flag officer for the Navy and Coast Guard). 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
441-469: A role as a naval reserve force with responsibilities in harbor defenses, port security , naval counter-intelligence and coastal patrols. The coast guard may, varying by jurisdiction, be a branch of a country's military , a law enforcement agency, or a search and rescue body. For example, the United States Coast Guard is a specialized military branch with law enforcement authority, whereas
504-607: A selected number of coast guards around the world, illustrating the varied roles they play in the respective governments and the countries they operate in: The Argentine Naval Prefecture , in Spanish Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA, is a service of the Argentine Republic's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers, lakes and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coast guards, and furthermore acts as
567-477: A singular national 'sea and coast guard agency'. In March 2022, the government issue regulation on Governance of Maritime Security, Safety and Law Enforcement at Indonesia's Territorial Water and Jurisdiction and designate Maritime Security Agency as coordinating body for all maritime law enforcement agencies. The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) makes up one arm of the Maritime Safety Services, the other being
630-475: A sizable fleet of vessels and aircraft, all serviced from various bases and smaller stations located on three coasts ( Atlantic , Arctic , Pacific ) and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River . The Canadian Coast Guard College is located near Sydney, Nova Scotia . The China Coast Guard (CCG) ( Chinese : 中国海警 ) serves as a coordinating body for maritime search and rescue in the territorial waters of
693-462: Is a junior officer , called a flag lieutenant or flag adjutant , attached as a personal adjutant or aide-de-camp . In the Canadian Armed 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
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#1732847675854756-593: Is also assigned with search and rescue (SAR) duties. For counter-terrorism and anti-piracy operations, the units operate in combination with the Special Anti-Terrorist Squad which is part of the Emergency Response Unit of the Cyprus Police. Although the prominent agencies responsible for all Search and Rescue operations are conducted by Cyprus Police Units, the agency responsible to organize
819-551: Is applied to brigadiers , major generals , lieutenant generals and generals in the Army ; commodores , rear admirals , vice admirals and admirals in the Navy ; and air commodores , air vice marshals , air marshals and air chief marshals in the Air Force . Each of these flag officers are designated with a specific flag. India's honorary ranks ( five star ranks ) are field marshal in
882-493: 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 epaulettes and shoulder boards ; 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. In May 2010
945-670: Is in Batumi , Adjaria . Besides the Poti-based force, the Coast Guard also includes a special counter-terrorist Detachment. Maritime surveillance radar stations are maintained at Anaklia , Poti, Supsa , Chakvi , and Gonio , providing coverage of all territorial seas. The German Federal Coast Guard , known as the Küstenwache, is both a civilian service and a law enforcement organisation, staffed with both police officers and certain civilians from
1008-410: Is one of the few law enforcement organisations in the world to combine water policing and coast guard duties while remaining as a policing unit. It operates primarily as a law enforcement agency, with secondary responsibilities in search and rescue. The Icelandic Coast Guard has primarily been a law enforcement organisation, but is also in charge of national defences . It has also been involved with
1071-965: Is responsible for maritime safety and the Queensland Police Service has a water police unit for law enforcement along the coastline, in waterways, and for Queensland islands. In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard organizations, the two largest organizations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (established in 1937) and the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (established in 1961). These volunteer organizations have no law enforcement powers, and are essentially auxiliary Search and Rescue services. In NSW these two organisations have joined to become Marine Rescue in 2009. The Bangladesh Coast Guard ( Bengali transliteration: বাংলাদেশ কোস্ট গার্ড; translated from English : বাংলাদেশ উপকূল রক্ষক ); BCG
1134-529: Is still in use today, explicitly defined as an officer of the U.S. Navy or Coast Guard serving in or having the grade of admiral, vice admiral, rear admiral, or rear admiral (lower half), equivalent to general officers of an army. In the United States 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 pay grade O-7, and above. As
1197-791: Is the maritime law enforcement force of Bangladesh . It is a paramilitary force which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs . Its officers are transferred from the Bangladesh Navy . The Bangladesh Coast Guard also performs the duty of maritime border security of Bangladesh. The headquarters is located in Dhaka , Bangladesh. Currently the coast guard has 3,339 personnel The Belize Coast Guard (BCG) mission includes maritime safety, maritime security, marine resources protection, maintaining sovereignty over Belize sea space, and naval defence of Belize. Coast Guard men and women are deployed around
1260-570: Is the national coast guard of the Republic of Greece . It is a paramilitary organization that can support the Hellenic Navy in wartime, but resides under separate civilian control in times of peace. It was founded in 1919 by an Act of Parliament and the legal framework for its function was reformed in 1927. The Haitian Coast Guard is an operational unit of the Haitian National Police . It
1323-567: The Aphrodite gas field in its Exclusive Economic Zone and Cyprus Police being the main national Law enforcement agency , the duties and responsibilities of the Cyprus Port and Marine Police are many and sometimes complex. It is a unit of the Cyprus Police, which resides under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order (Cyprus) . However it can support the Cyprus Navy in wartime which resides under
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#17328476758541386-646: The Belize Defence Force and the Belize Police Department . Having 18 kilometres of coastline only, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a force dedicated to defend its coast. The duty of patrolling its coastline falls to the Granična policija [ sh ] (English: Border Police ). In addition to the roles of a traditional navy, the Brazilian Navy also carries out the role of organizing
1449-452: The Canadian Armed Forces , Royal Canadian Mounted Police , and other organizations. The CCG maintains and operates seamarks, coastal light stations, vessel traffic services, marine pollution response services, marine communications systems, and provides icebreaking services. The CCG also operates all Federal scientific research and hydrographic survey vessels. To accomplish these tasks, the CCG has
1512-827: The Central Military Commission (CMC). In Hong Kong, law enforcement duties are carried out by the Marine Region of the Hong Kong Police Force and the Customs and Excise Department (Ports and Maritime Command of the Boundary and Ports Branch). The Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (HKMRCC) co-ordinates search and rescue vessels, aircraft and other resources of the Fire Services Department , Government Flying Service , Marine Department and
1575-585: The Egyptian Navy , is responsible for the onshore protection of public installations near the coast and the patrol of coastal waters to prevent smuggling. In the French Republic , Affaires maritimes is the closest organization to a coast guard. In each region, a naval admiral, called Maritime Prefect , is in charge of coordination of all state services for action at sea by the Navy , the Affaires maritimes ,
1638-524: The Japan Coast Guard is under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism , and is responsible for the protection of the coast-lines and islands of Japan. Rear admiral (Royal Navy) Rear admiral ( RAdm ) is a flag officer rank of the Royal Navy . It is immediately superior to commodore and is subordinate to vice admiral . It is a two-star rank and has
1701-668: The Maritime Gendarmerie and the Coastguard Service of the French Customs . A charity, Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer , provides most life saving duties at the local level. The Georgian Coast Guard is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police , within the Ministry for Internal Affairs. It is responsible for the maritime protection of the entire 310 km (190 mi) coastline of Georgia, as well as
1764-580: The President and confirmed by the Senate . Each subsequent promotion requires renomination and re-approval. For the Navy, each flag officer assignment is usually limited to a maximum of two years, followed by either reassignment, reassignment and promotion, or retirement . Coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being
1827-636: The United Kingdom 's His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a civilian organisation whose primary role is search and rescue. Most coast guards operate ships and aircraft including helicopters and seaplanes that are either owned or leased by the agency in order to fulfil their respective roles. Some coast guards, such as the Irish Coast Guard , have only a very limited law enforcement role, usually in enforcing maritime safety law, such as by inspecting ships docked in their jurisdiction. In cases where
1890-757: The United States Life-Saving Service , was formed in 1848 and consisted of life saving crews stationed at points along the United States East Coast . The Coast Guard later absorbed the United States Lighthouse Service in 1939 and the functions of the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection via a two-step process in 1942 and 1946. Among the responsibilities that may be entrusted to a coast guard service are: During wartime, some national coast guard organisations might have
1953-463: 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, a 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
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2016-588: The Army, Marshal of the Indian Air Force in the Air Force and admiral of the fleet in the Navy. A similar equivalence is applied to senior police officers of rank Deputy Inspector General (DIG) , Inspector General (IG) , Additional Director General (ADG) and Director General (DG) . In the United Kingdom, the term is only used for the Royal Navy , with there being a more specific distinction being between
2079-471: The Coast Guard, Coast Guard ships and airplanes are authorized to pursue them and if necessary open fire, while taking care not to jeopardize the lives of the vessel's crew. Under the law, the commander of the Coast Guard is a Navy officer who is appointed and relieved of duty by the president of the republic at the government's proposal. The Cyprus Port and Marine Police ( Greek Λιμενική και Ναυτική Αστυνομία – Limeniki kai Nautiki Astinomia ) fulfills
2142-675: The Croatian Parliament passed a bill establishing the Croatian Coast Guard. The Coast Guard's mission is protect sovereign rights and carry out Croatia's jurisdiction in the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone , the continental shelf and the high seas . The Coast Guard will also monitor vessels sailing in the Croatian territorial waters . If vessels are caught violating Croatian or international regulations and disregard warnings by
2205-517: The Georgian territorial waters . The primary missions of the service are administration of the territorial waters, marine pollution protection, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, port security and maritime defense. The former Georgian Navy was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 2009. The headquarters and a principal Coast Guard base are located at the Black Sea port of Poti . A second smaller base
2268-692: The HMCG's own helicopters. Beginning in 1964 with the United States Coast Guard, many coast guards around the world have adopted high visibility color schemes to differentiate their coast guard vessels from the vessels of their respective navies. A frequent element is a high contrast "racing stripe" on the outer hull. While no international agreement exists to adopt it as a uniform marking, the 2009/2010 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships showed 61 nations had adopted some form of this stripe pattern for their coastal patrol and rescue vessels. The following lists
2331-959: The Indian Coast Guard defends one of the longest coastlines of the Indian Ocean region. The Iranian NEDSA controls the south entry point. The Border Guard Command Marine faraja sea [ fa ] also performs maritime duties in the north alongside the Iranian Navy . Maritime Law Enforcement in Indonesia is conducted by multiple government agencies, including the Indonesian Navy , Indonesian Maritime Security Agency , Indonesian Sea and Coast Guard , Directorate General of Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance , and National Police Water Unit . There has been plans to amalgamate these different maritime law enforcement agencies to become
2394-695: The Isle of Man Inland Search and Rescue Group. It maintains the Isle of Man's Marine Operations Centre (control room), but it has no aircraft, and contracts air-sea rescue to the UK Coastguard. In the Republic of Italy , the Guardia Costiera is part of the Italian Navy under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport . They have responsibility for enforcement of shipping and maritime safety regulations, as well as performing search and rescue duties In Japan ,
2457-623: The Marine Police. In Macau , coast guard responsibilities fall under the purview of the Macau Customs Service , which is in charge of conducting CG duties. The Marine and Water Bureau , which is under the Secretariat for Transport and Public Works (Macau) , helps in coordinating search and rescue operations in the region. It's done via the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, formed under
2520-784: The Maritime Safety Directorate. Both arms are due to merge into a new "one stop shop" agency for all maritime safety matters. The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is: To reduce the loss of life within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and on rivers, lakes and waterways and to protect the quality of the marine environment within the Irish Pollution Responsibility Zone, Harbours and Maritime Local Authority areas and to preserve property. To promote safety standards, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible,
2583-407: The Ministry of Defence. It is staffed by Police Officers which can be transferred to and from other units and agencies of the Cyprus Police and are tasked with the primary mission of policing the country's sea borders and the law enforcement of the waters around it. The unit is equipped with patrol boats and radars but it does not operate its own helicopters. Instead, it operates in combination with
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2646-571: The People's Republic of China. It was formed on 2013 as an amalgamation of four agencies: the Public Security Border Troops under the Ministry of Public Security , China Maritime Safety Administration , China Marine Surveillance , and China Fisheries Law Enforcement Command . In March 2018, it was placed under the leadership of the People's Armed Police , which is under the direct command of
2709-537: The Republic of Iceland's contributions to expeditionary operations and conducted military exercises: for example, Operation Enduring Freedom and Northern Challenge . The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is under the Ministry of Defence . It has responsibility for search and rescue, enforcing the maritime law of anti-smuggling, immigration and shipping regulations and protecting the country's maritime and offshore resources. With 40 plus aircraft and 150 plus vessels and ships,
2772-474: The Royal Navy lists most admirals who were "flag officers". A flag officer's junior officer is often known as "Flags". Flag Officers in the Royal Navy are considered as Rear-Admirals and above. 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 officers , although all are entitled to fly flags of rank. Captain
2835-585: The SAR system, to co-ordinate, to control and direct SAR operations in the region that the Republic of Cyprus is responsible for (which coincides with the Nicosia FIR ) is the Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center or JRCC Larnaca, which is an independent agency of the Ministry of Defence. The Djiboutian Coast Guard , part of the Djiboutian Armed Forces , is a humanitarian and security service. It protects Djibouti's borders and economic and security interests and defends its territorial waters and its Exclusive Economic Zone . The Egyptian Coast Guard , part of
2898-596: The Vessel Traffic Control Centre of Macao (Macao VTS). The Croatian Coast Guard ( Croatian : Obalna straža Republike Hrvatske ) is a division of the Croatian Navy responsible for protecting the interests of the Republic of Croatia at sea . The Croatian Navy is composed of classical naval forces structured into a flotilla and the Coast Guard that solely consists of ships with peacetime duties, e.g. protection of ecology , fishing , control of tankers , ballast waters , combat against terrorism , trafficking of people , narcotics , and similar. On September 13, 2007,
2961-425: The aerial unit of the Cyprus Police, the Cyprus Police Aviation Unit . Main roles include law enforcement against illicit activities such as smuggling (due to the fact that although the Customs and Excise Department is a separate agency under the Ministry of Finance, it does not have an operational or tactical team of its own), terrorism , piracy , illegal fishing , Illegal drug trade , illegal immigration and
3024-434: The authority of the Board of Customs and in future should be named the "Coastguard". In 1845 the Coastguard was subordinated to the Admiralty . In 1829 the first UK Coastguard instructions were published and dealt with discipline and directions for carrying out preventative duties. They also stipulated that, when a ship was wrecked, the Coastguard was responsible for taking all possible action to save lives, to take charge of
3087-490: The clock patrolling the internal waters and territorial seas. On the northern frontier, their joint operating base at Consejo protects the local economy from the negative impacts of illegal contraband and acts as the northern cut off for drug trafficking. On their southern boundary they stand guard at the Sarstoon river ensuring sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belize. They stand ready for anything (Utrinque Paratus ). The Coast Guard Service coordinates its activities with
3150-445: The coast guard is primarily concerned with coordinating rather than executing rescue operations, lifeboats are often provided by civilian voluntary organisations, such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the United Kingdom and Ireland, whilst aircraft may be provided by the countries' armed forces , such as the search and rescue Sea Kings formerly operated by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy , in addition to any of
3213-423: The functions of other countries' coast guards for the Republic of Cyprus . Cyprus is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean with about 1/3 of the island is under control of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus after 1974 Cypriot coup d'état and following Turkish military Invasion based on Treaty of Guarantee (1960) . Due to the country's geopolitical situation, size, the recent discovery in 2011 of
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#17328476758543276-559: The loss of life at sea and on inland waters and other areas, and to provide an effective emergency response service. The Isle of Man is a Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between Ireland and the United Kingdom. It is not part of the United Kingdom, but historically relied upon the UK Coastguard. However, the UK Coastguard withdrew in 1988, and the Isle of Man Government formed its own Coastguard in 1989. Its key functions are coastal patrol, pollution control, and shore-based search and rescue. It also co-operates with other agencies as part of
3339-586: The merchant navy and other operational safety missions traditionally conducted by a coast guard. Other roles include: Conducting national maritime policy, and implementing and enforcing laws and regulations with respect to the sea and inland waters. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is a civilian service under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans responsible for patrolling the world's longest coastline of 243,042 km (~151,000 mi). The CCG holds responsibility for all marine search and rescue throughout Canada. The CCG coordinates search and rescue operations with
3402-415: The modern age, with the rank of rear admiral the most junior of the admiralty ranks of many navies. Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined career path . The command flags flown by a rear-admiral changed a number of times during this period. The Royal Navy rank of rear admiral should be distinguished from the office of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom , which
3465-420: 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. commodores ' 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. In the Indian Armed Forces , it
3528-411: The ships on England's beaches at night in small boats and later sold for profit, as later depicted in the Doctor Syn series of books by Russell Thorndike . The Coastguard was also responsible for giving assistance to shipwrecks . Each Waterguard station was issued with a Manby mortar , which had been invented by Captain George William Manby in 1808. The mortar fired a shot with a line attached from
3591-464: The shore to the wrecked ship and was used for many years. This was the origin of the Coastguard's life saving role. In 1821 a committee of inquiry recommended that responsibility for the Preventative Waterguard be transferred to the Board of Customs. The Treasury agreed and (in a memorandum dated 15 January 1822) directed that the preventative services, which consisted of the Preventative Water Guard , cruisers, and riding officers should be placed under
3654-430: The squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval battle. In the rear of the naval squadron, a third admiral would command the remaining ships and, as this section of the squadron was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of the rear would typically be the most junior of the squadron admirals. This has survived into
3717-472: 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 , 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
3780-411: The various German federal agencies associated with maritime administration with responsibility for the coordination of all law enforcement activities within its jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Hellenic Coast Guard ( Greek : Λιμενικό Σώμα-Ελληνική Ακτοφυλακή , romanized : Limeniko Soma-Elliniki Aktofylaki , lit. 'Harbor Corps-Hellenic Coast Guard')
3843-416: The vessel and to protect property. In the United States, the United States Coast Guard was created in 1915 by the merger of two other federal agencies. The first, the United States Revenue Cutter Service , founded in 1790 and known until 1894 as the United States Revenue-Marine, was a maritime customs enforcement agency that also assumed a supporting role to the United States Navy in wartime. The second,
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#17328476758543906-446: Was established in 1809 as the Waterguard , a department of the HM Customs and Excise authority, which was originally devoted to the prevention of smuggling . At the time, due to high UK taxation on liquors such as brandy, as well as tobacco and other luxuries, smuggling of such cargos from places such as France, Belgium, and Holland was an attractive proposition for criminals. The barrels of brandy and other contraband were landed from
3969-400: Was the highest rank in the United States Navy from its beginning in 1775 until 1857, when Congress created the temporary rank of flag officer, which was bestowed on senior Navy captains who were assigned to lead a squadron of vessels in addition to command of their own ship. This temporary usage gave way to the permanent ranks of commodore and rear admiral in 1862. The term "flag officer"
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