Aside from the official version of the flags used during special occasions, the Air Force still has a lot of different types used by the different departments. As each officer is elevated in rank, he is accorded due recognition for a flag type is devised for the purpose. For example if your rank is a Brigadier General, then you have a brigadier general flag usually made out in a dull bluish hue and framed by a yellow-gold fringe with a single star at the center. The same is true with a Major General, for it has two stars, while for the Lieutenant General Flag, 3 stars is likewise seen on the flag.
Also a four star flag is made for the General, the same in context with the other types, but has four stars printed, patched or even embroidered on it. But nothing beats the
military flag for the General of the Air Force Command, for aside from the five stars, the blue color tint is evidently copied after the shade of the official United States Flag.
But what is really symbolic for the Air Force is the POW/MIA (prisoner of war - missing in action) flag. It is designed of mourning black, with a white forlorn image of a comrade in arms bowed head in silhouette, with a caption "you are not forgotten" a fitting tribute to the men and women who might have perished or been captured by enemy combatants in the line of duty. This has become an enduring emblem second only in rank to the National Flag.
This symbolic flag was created in 1971, and its historic rise to fame has been unprecedented in the entire history of the United States.
by:
The Flagman
