Editing Commissioning pennant (section)

===United States===
====United States Navy and United States Coast Guard====

The commissioning pennant of the United States Navy is "blue at the hoist, bearing seven white stars; the rest of the pennant consists of single longitudinal stripes of red and white."<ref name="USNHC"/> The commissioning pennant of the United States Coast Guard is a near opposite, being white at the hoist, bearing thirteen blue stars, and with the rest of the pennant consisting of multiple vertical red and white stripes.

Ships of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard fly their respective commissioning pennants from the moment of commissioning until the decommissioning ceremony, the only exceptions being when either a [[flag officer]] or a civilian official is embarked and the flag officer's or civilian official's personal flag is flown in its place.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/customs-and-traditions/commissioning-pennant.html |title=Commissioning Pennant |website=www.history.navy.mil |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203120710/http://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/customs-and-traditions/commissioning-pennant.html |archive-date=2015-02-03}} </ref>

The ensign, jack and commissioning pennant are hoisted directly after the reading out of the commissioning order and struck as the final act before the captain declares the ship decommissioned.

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard use the respective pennants as the symbol of the vessel's commanding officer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us%5Envcp.html |title=Commissioning pennant |year=2001 |last=McMillan |first=Joe |publisher=Flags of the World |access-date=11 March 2011}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = center
| image1 = USNavyCommissionPennant.svg
| width1 = 300
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = US Coast Guard Commissioning Pennant.gif
| width2 = 300
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = Commissioning pennants for the [[United States Navy]] (left) and [[United States Coast Guard]] (right).
}}When the vessel's commanding officer is ashore, the ship will also display the international code flag known as the Third Substitute pennant.

====NOAA fleet====

The [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA) operates a fleet of [[Research ship|research]] and [[survey ship]]s which are in commission for [[United States Government]] service, although they are not warships. Ships in the [[NOAA ships and aircraft|NOAA fleet]] fly a "commission pennant" in a similar manner to U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships.<ref>[https://www.noaa.gov/organization/administration/nao-201-6-official-flags-of-noaa#:~:text=Commission%20Pennant%2D%20A%20long%20tapering,a%20personal%20flag%20or%20pennant. NAO 201-6 A: Official Flags of NOAA March 15, 2015]</ref> The NOAA fleet has three commission pennants, one for its largest ships (which it deems "Class I" vessels), and two for smaller ships NOAA defines as "Class II," "Class III," or "Class IV" vessels.<ref name=seaflags>[https://www.seaflags.us/noaa/noaa.html Sea Flags: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Accessed 26 October 2022]</ref> The pennant for Class I vessels is {{convert|15|ft}} long and has 13 red triangles on a white background at the hoist, with the remainder of the pennant blue, while the pennants for Class II, III, and IV vessels are {{convert|9|and|4|ft}} long and have seven red triangles but otherwise are identical in design to the Class I pennant.<ref name=seaflags/><ref>[https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/document/2020/Mar/NAO_201-6A_Attachment_1_Authorized_Flags.pdf NAO 201-6A Attachment 1: Authorized Flags of the Department of Commerce, NOAA, and the NOAA Commissioned Corps March 15, 2015]</ref> The pennants are identical to those flown by commissioned ships of the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]],<ref name=seaflags/> one of the ancestor organizations of NOAA, and the red triangles represent the discipline of [[triangulation]] used in [[hydrographic survey]]s.<ref name=seaflags/> The flag of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, used from 1899 to 1970, and that of NOAA, in use since 1970, include a similar red triangle.<ref name=seaflags/>
{{multiple image
| align = center
| image1 = NOAA commission pennant Class I vessels.PNG
| width1 = 300
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = 
| image2 = NOAA commission pennant Class II, III, and IV vessels.PNG
| width2 = 300
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = 
| footer = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] commission pennants for Class I vessels (left) and for Class II, III, and IV vessels (right). The Class I pennant is {{convert|15|ft}} long, while the Class II, III, and IV pennant can be either {{convert|9|or|4|ft}} long.}}