Once a Submariner, always a Submariner. The United States Navy Submarine Service is a very tight knit group of people. You must volunteer to serve aboard a submarine and then you must master every aspect of your submarine to become 'Qualified in Submarines' and have the right to wear your 'Dolphins'. Winston Churchill. This Dolphin flag is made of 100% heavyweight marine nylon for strength and durability. Like it's predecessor, it's imprinted on both sides and ready to fly. This white imprint shows up beautifully on the Navy Blue background.
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See also:Return to Sea Flags home pagePrizes for competitions among ships have long beena central element of U.S. Navy training programs, with the awarding ofthe battle efficiency 'E' dating back to 1906. The first formal unitdecoration for combat services, the Presidential Unit Citation, was introducedin 1942 to recognize extraordinary heroism in combat. It took the form of a burgee-shaped pennant to be displayed by the unitreceiving it as well as a ribbon to be worn permanently on the uniformby those who were members at the time the service wasperformed. The same practice was subsequently followed for otherunit commendations. Later, beginning in the 1970s, additional awardflags were added to recognize achievements in other areas on which theSecretary of the Navy wished to place special emphasis--environmental protection,energy conservation, safety, and so on.
The Navy Awards Manual (SecNavInst 1650.1F)provides for award pennants and flags awarded to ships to be flown fromthe fore truck (or, in one-masted ships, the main truck) from sunrise tosunset when not under way. Shore commands, or fleet units based ashore,fly the pennant wherever the commanding officer considers appropriate,normally from the starboard arm of a flagmast with a crosstree. Replicasof unit citation pennants are also often painted on unit equipment. Theprincipal pennants and flags are flown in the following order of priority:unit citations in the order of precedence shown below; Secretary of theNavy award flags in order of establishment of the award; battle efficiencypennant.
Presidential Unit Citation
ThePresidential Unit Citation was established by Executive Order on February6, 1942. It is awarded in the name of the President for extraordinaryheroism in action against an armed enemy and is the equivalent for a unitof the Navy Cross awarded to an individual. The current authorization forthe Presidential Unit Citation is Executive Order 10694 of January 10,1957. Bronze-colored stars are placed on the yellow stripe for each additionalcitation, up to a maximum of five. A streameraffixed to the Navy Flag represents the PUCs awarded to Navy units overthe years.Return to top of page
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
The Joint Meritorious Unit Award was established on January 23, 1979, andis awarded to joint activities of the Armed Forces that distinguish themselvesby exceptionally meritorious achievement or service in pursuit of jointmilitary missions of great significance. For example, a joint taskforce conducting combat operations would be eligible to receive this award,and it would be displayed by each of the units making up the task force. In the case of Marine Corps units, a streamer is attachedto the battle color. The image shown is approximate and is basedon observation of this pennant flying aboard the USS Theodore Rooseveltin September 2000 at Norfolk, Virginia.Return to top of page
Navy Unit Commendation
TheNavy Unit Commendation, established by order of the Secretary of the Navyon December 18, 1944, is awarded by the Secretary of the Navy to unitsof the Navy or Marine Corps that have distinguished themselves by outstandingheroism in action or by extremely meritorious service in support of militaryoperations. It may also be awarded to units of the other Servicesor of friendly foreign nations. The NUC is the unit equivalent ofa Silver Star when awarded for heroism or the Legion of Merit when awardedfor meritorious service. Bronze-colored stars are placed on the greenstripe for each additional citation, up to a maximum of five. A streameris also placed on the Navy flag.Return to top of page
Meritorious Unit Commendation
TheMeritorious Unit Commendation, established by the Secretary of the Navyon July 17, 1967, is awarded for valorous or meritorious achievement undereither combat or non-combat conditions. It is considered the unit equivalentof the Bronze Star Medal awarded to an individual. Bronze-colored starsare placed on the center for each additional citation, up to a maximumof five. A streamer on theNavy flag, inscribed with red numerals, indicates the number of awardsof the MUC to Navy units over the years.Return to top of page
Secretary of the Navy Environmental Awards
PursuanttoSecNavInst 5090.5F, the Department of the Navy EnvironmentalPrograms Manual, the Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operationscite a number of commands annually for achievements in such areas as environmentalquality, environmental cleanup, natural resources conservation, culturalresources management, pollution prevention, and recycling. The previousflag for environmental awards was green with the international environmentalsymbol (an oval with a horizontal bar across the center) in white. It was replaced by this design in about 1995. The image is basedon a photograph provided by John Niggley.Return to top of page
Secretary of the Navy Energy Conservation Award
TheSecretary of the Navy Energy Conservation Awards, created in the wake ofthe oil shortages of the 1970s, are presented annually to Navy and MarineCorps installations, ships, aircraft squadrons, industrial facilities,and other operational units pursuant to SecNavInst 4101.1 andOpNavInst 4100.7B. Organizations winning the awards are entitledto display the award flag for a period of one year from the date of theannouncement or until the next year's awards are announced.
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Safety Awards
Secretary of the Navy Award for Achievement in Safety Ashore
A Secretary of the Navy Safety Flag is authorized by SecNavInst 5100.15Afor display by shore installations in recognition of winning the Secretaryof the Navy Award for Achievement in Safety Ashore. The flag is whitewith a green cross and the golden seal of the awards program on thecenter.
Green 'S' Pennant for Safety Afloat
Shipsthat win the annual type commanders' safety awards fly what is known asthe Green 'S' Pennant from a yardarm while not under way (ComNavSurfLant/PacInst3502.2E).The pennant is so named because winners also paint a greenletter 'S' on the port and starboard bridge bulwarks alongside the lettersfor other efficiency competitions.
RetentionExcellence Award Pennant
This pennant recognizes ships, aircraft squadrons, shore commandsand other units and organizations for achieving high levels of personnelretention--getting sailors to reenlist and stay in the Navy at the endof their first, second, and later terms of enlistment. It is awardedby the two fleet commanders in chief as well as by the commanders of othermajor commands.
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Submarine Warfare Excellence Flags
The Commanders of Submarine Forces Atlantic Fleet and Submarine ForcesPacific Fleet award the flags shown below to vessels under their cognizancewhose officers and enlisted personnel meet established standards for percentagesqualifying for the officers' gold submariners' dolphins and the enlistedsilver submariners' dolphins. These flags date back at least to the 1960s.They are flown while not under way from a staff attached to the after edgeof the submarine's sail (conning tower).
Gold (Officers) Pennant for Submarine Warfare Excellence
Silver (Enlisted) Pennant for Submarine Warfare Excellence
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Surface Warfare Excellence Pennants
In 1998, the naval surface forces of both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleetsjointly introduced two 'pennants,' actually rectangular flags, to recognizeachievements in qualifying crew members as surface warfare officers andenlisted surface warfare specialists. Both pennants are blue withthe officers and enlisted surface warfare breast insignia on the center. These flags are flown at the main when not under way, immediately abovebattleefficiency pennants. Since the merger of the Atlantic and Pacific surface forces into a single Naval Surface Force, the award of these pennants is governed by COMNAVSURFOR Instruction 3502.1D.
Gold Surface Warfare Excellence Pennant
Toreceive the 'gold pennant,' all of a ship's officers who have been aboard for 18 months or longer and are eligible for surface warfare qualification must be so qualified.
Silver Surface Warfare Excellence Pennant
A ship may fly the 'silver pennant' if all sailors in the grades of E-5 through E-9 who have been on board for 18 months or more are qualified as enlisted surface warfare specialists.
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Enlisted Air Warfare Excellence Pennant
This pennant has recently been introduced foraircraft carriers whose sailors meet a specified standard of qualification as enlisted air warfare specialists.
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Commander in Chief's Award for Excellent Installations
TheCommander in Chief's Award for Installation Excellence was establishedby the President to reward outstanding overall management of military installations.Each military service selects one winning installation each year. OpNavInst1650.23C authorizes installations that win the award to display theexcellent installation flag for a period of one year from the date of receivingthe award. The hoist of the flag is blue with the Presidential coat ofarms in gold above numerals indicating the year for which the award ispresented. The fly of the flag is red with two white blocks, forming alarge letter 'E' for excellence. This flag is flown along with other awardflags from the left arm of the crosstree of the winning installation'sflagmast.
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Battle Efficiency 'E' Pennant
The battle efficiency pennant, or 'meatball,'(left) is flown at the truck of the foremast when not under way, beneathany citation pennants or Secretary of the Navy award flags, to signifya ship's winning of the annual fleetwide competition for sustained superiorperformance in an operational environment. In addition, the winning shippaints a large white 'E' on the bridge bulwarks on both the port and starboardsides of the ship. A ship that wins five consecutive battle efficiencycompetitions replaces the white 'E' with a gold one and is entitled tothe special battle efficiency pennant (right). Besides the battle efficiency'E', ships also compete for a number of specialized awardssignified by the painting of various letters and symbols on the ship. | |
Pennant | Efficiency Pennant |
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Copyright 2000, 2001 by Joseph McMillan