Eagle on Flag Pole

[Cheryl Sites]

We have eagles on top of all of our flag poles in our reception area. (U. S. flag, State flag, and flags for each branch of the armed forces. We received a comment that only the U. S. Flag is "authorized" to have the eagle on the staff. Is this correct?

[Peter Ansoff]

Hi, Cheryl,

We received a comment that only the U. S. Flag is "authorized" to have the eagle on the staff. Is this correct?

No. There's no rule or regulation that says that. The civilian "flag code" does not specify any finial for US flags. Each of the military services has its own regulations dealing with this, and some states have regulations that specify particular finials for their state flags. For example, a cardinal (bird) is the correct finial for the flag of Kentucky.

Also, the eagle is not necessarily the correct finial for the *US* flag. For example, US Navy regulations (NTP13B) state that the finial for the US flag (and the Navy flag) should normally be a "battle ax." The only exception is when the US flag is displayed from a boat carrying senior officers or civilians; in that case, an eagle is sometimes used.

I hope this answers your question. Welcome to the forum!

Peter Ansoff