Flag officer

A flag officer is both a historic naval and military rank and a modern Earthforce title. It generally refers to all officers of Commodore/Rear Admiral rank or higher. The term flag officer stems from the historical naval practice that when a person of admiral rank was posted to a ship, a flag denoting his rank and presence was flown. In an age of visual signals, the ships under the admiral's command would look to the flagship for orders and instructions. The term traditionally denotes any officer that commands a squadron of starships, possibly in addition to one under their direct command.