We offer Military, High Quality Nylon, single-sided flags. All of our flags have the canvas header with 2 brass grommets and are strong for outdoor use.

Military service is something to be honored and respected. Whether you served in the military or are supporting a loved one serving in the military, Flagpoles etc. has a wide selection of military flags and pennants of the world to show pride in the armed forces. The quality fabric and vibrant colors assures that all flags are the best available. Military discount of 5%. Use coupon code 5OFFANY.

More Information on Military Flags

Our Website

888-735-5591

Order When Displayed

The order of precedence when displaying military flags together is Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. Except that Coast Guard moves up right behind Navy when the Coast Guard serves as a service of the Dept of the Navy in time of war. The basic citation is Department of Defense Directive 1005.8. It's promulgated down the line in various service directives. I believe for the Marines its Chapter 12 of U.S. Navy Regulations and NAVMC 2691, the Marine Corps Drill Manual.

Army comes first because it was created first--14 June 1775. Marines come second because, even though they were created a month after the Navy (10 Nov vs. 13 Oct 1775), some Secretary of the Navy accorded them precedence back in the days before defense unification (late 1800s, as I recall).

Coast Guard last, I guess because they're not one of the big four, even though they're 150 years older than the Air Force. Joe McMillan, 22 September 1999

People sometimes ask why the Marine Corps flag comes before the Navy flag. The Marines have had an official corps color since 1881, and the current scarlet flag since 1939. But there was no official U.S. Navy flag until 1959, and by that time the official order of precedence among the services had already been set as Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard.

The real question is why the Marines take precedence over the Navy, even though the Navy's official founding date is 28 days earlier. The Navy History Center www.history.navy.mil/birthday2.htm says it's because the Marines have, since 1921, consistently claimed 10 November 1775, when the Continental Marines were created--as their founding date. The Marines chose to disregard the gap in their lineage caused by the disestablishment of the Corps after the Revolutionary War. Meanwhile, the Navy had variously claimed 1794, when the Navy was reestablished after the Revolution, and 1798, when the separate Department of the Navy was created, settling on 13 Oct 1775 (the founding date of the Continental Navy) only in 1972.

But this all ignores the fact that by the 1890s Navy landing force manuals, which governed not only combat tactics but parade protocol, already stipulated that when Marine and Navy battalions were paraded together, the Marines would take the position at the right, or more senior, end of the line. I believe the practice stems from a decision by a Secretary of the Navy some time in the mid-19th century, but have never been able to pin it down more precisely than that. Joe McMillan, 17 December 2001

In 1972 the Navy officially changed to October 1775, which was one month prior to the Marines at November 1775. Prior to officially changing to this date, they were a younger service than the Marines -- Congress didn't authorize a Navy until 1789. In 1972, the Navy chose to make their inception date October 1775, which was when the Continental Congress authorized a Continental Navy to search out ships bringing munitions to the British. After the war for independence, the ships were sold and the personnel released. Tammy Baker 31 May 2002

According to the website, House Resolution H.R.1119 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 SEC. 1054. DISPLAY OF POW/MIA FLAG.

includes the following provision:

PROTOCOL: If flying the flag from ONE FLAG POLE, the POW/MIA flag is flown directly below the National Colors and above any state flag.

If flying National, POW/MIA and State flags from TWO poles, the POW/MIA flag should be flown from the same pole as the National Colors, and beneath the American Flag, with the state flag flying from the pole to the left.

If flying flags from three poles, the National Colors occupy the place of prominence (the right), with the POW/MIA flag immediately to the left of the U.S. Flag, and the state flag to the left of the POW/MIA flag.