Why Does The U.s. Army Flag Have Precedence Over The Flags Of The Other U.s. Military Services?

^{This folio is function of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Armed services Flags (U.S.)

Order When Displayed
Armed services Rank Flags Compared
National Colors
Presidential
Air Force
Army
Army Organizational, Rank, and Positional Flags List
Regular army Streamers
Infinite Force
Coast Guard
Marine Corps
Navy
Merchant Marine
Ability Squadrons
National Guard
Naval Militia
Aircraft Markings
Infinite Control
American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers)
Military Chapel and Clergyman flags
Senior Executive Service of the U.S. Army
Community Service
Department of Defense
Chiefs of Staff
Chief of National Baby-sit Bureau
Prisoners of War - Missing in Action
Peace Corps
National Unified Service Control
Unified Combatant Commands (formerly Regional Unified Commands)
Military Finials (Ornaments)
Service Star flags of WWI/WWII
Hospital Flags
Military Veteran/Commemorative Flags
Award and Remember
KIA (Killed in Activeness) flag
Agent Orangish flag
Civil Defense
Medal of Honor flag
Silver Star Families of America
United Service Organizations
American Legion
Outvets
Armada Reserve Clan
Navy League of the U.Due south.
US Constitute of Peace
Constabulary flags

See likewise:

United States

Lodge When Displayed

The society of precedence when displaying military flags together is Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Declension Guard. Except that Coast Guard moves up right backside Navy when the Coast Baby-sit 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'south promulgated down the line in various service directives. I believe for the Marines its Chapter 12 of U.South. Navy Regulations and NAVMC 2691, the Marine Corps Drill Manual.

Army comes first because information technology was created commencement -xiv June 1775. Marines come second because, even though they were created a calendar month afterwards the Navy (10 Nov vs. thirteen Oct 1775), some Secretarial assistant of the Navy accorded them precedence back in the days earlier defence force unification (late 1800s, as I recall).

Coast Guard last, I guess because they're not one of the big four, fifty-fifty 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 electric current scarlet flag since 1939. Only there was no official U.S. Navy flag until 1959, and past that time the official order of precedence amid the services had already been gear up 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 appointment is 28 days earlier. The Navy History Center world wide web.history.navy.mil/birthday2.htm says it'southward because the Marines take, 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 subsequently 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 October 1775 (the founding date of the Continental Navy) just in 1972.

But this all ignores the fact that by the 1890s Navy landing strength manuals, which governed not just 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 practise stems from a conclusion past a Secretary of the Navy some fourth dimension in the mid-19th century, but take never been able to pivot it downwardly 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 appointment, they were a younger service than the Marines -- Congress didn't qualify a Navy until 1789. In 1972, the Navy chose to brand their inception appointment Oct 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 Human activity for Fiscal Year 1998 SEC. 1054.
DISPLAY OF Pw/MIA FLAG.

includes the following provision:

PROTOCOL: If flying the flag from ONE FLAG POLE, the Prisoner of war/MIA flag is flown straight below the National Colors and in a higher place any country flag.

If flying National, POW/MIA and State flags from TWO poles, the Pow/MIA flag should be flown from the aforementioned pole as the National Colors, and below the American Flag, with the country flag flight from the pole to the left.

If flying flags from 3 poles, the National Colors occupy the place of prominence (the correct), with the Pw/MIA flag immediately to the left of the U.Southward. Flag, and the state flag to the left of the Pow/MIA flag.

Ned Smith, 28 Nov 2003

Information technology should exist noted that the human activity in question only pertains to certain regime facilities, such as the White Firm, State Department, Defense Department and U.Due south. Postal service, amidst them. Information technology does contradict certain policy issued by the protocol advisers at the U.South. Air Forcefulness Academy: "POW/MIA flag is displayed when appropriate and normally merely with the U.S. flag (U.S. flag takes the position of honor)." Not all of these institutions fly a country flag.
Phil Nelson, 28 November 2003

This White House photo confirms the suspected guild of precedence including the US Space Forcefulness flag:
1) US Army (out of the picture frame)
2) Us Marine Corps
iii) US Navy
4) US Air Force
v) US Space Force
6) United states Coast Guard

At nowadays, it does non accept any entrada streamers attached, simply I expect there will be a concerted effort by the Air Force Historical Research Agency to compile a listing of actions that Air Strength Space Command units accept participated in since its inception in 1982. (Opposite to popular conventionalities, expeditionary space units exercise deploy into combat zones).
Dave Fowler, 21 June 2020

DOD directives and Army regulations only address the (now six) armed forces, and non all eight uniformed services flags when displayed together.

However, the ceremonies manual for the US Public Health Service does specifically hash out this and club the US Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Deputed Officer Corps flags to exist displayed directly after the Us Declension Guard flag (page 17):
https://dcp.psc.gov/CCMIS/PDF_docs/USPHS%20SGHG%20Drill%20and%20Ceremonies%20Manual.pdf
The attached (pre-Infinite Forcefulness) picture shows an case of this.
Dave Fowler, ten Apr 2021