Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§8625 Navy Reserve flag

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle C— - Navy and Marine Corps › Part PART IV— - GENERAL ADMINISTRATION › Chapter CHAPTER 861— - SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: MISCELLANEOUS POWERS AND DUTIES › § 8625

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Navy Secretary must create a Navy Reserve flag; only U.S.-documented merchant ships the Secretary designates under his rules as fit for wartime naval-auxiliary use, whose captain and at least half the licensed officers are Navy, may fly it.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §8625

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Secretary of the Navy shall prescribe a suitable flag to be known as the Navy Reserve flag. This flag may be flown by a seagoing merchant vessel if—
(1)the vessel is documented under the laws of the United States;
(2)the vessel has been designated by the Secretary, under such regulations as he prescribes, as suitable for service as a naval auxiliary in time of war; and
(3)the master or commanding officer and at least half of the other licensed officers of the vessel are members of the Navy.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 722550 U.S.C. 1048.July 9, 1952, ch. 608, § 409, 66 Stat. 499. In clause (3) the words “at least half” are substituted for the words “not less than 50 per centum”. The words “or Naval Reserve” are omitted as surplusage, since the Navy includes the Naval Reserve.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–232 renumbered section 7225 of this title as this section. 2006—Pub. L. 109–163, § 515(b)(3)(D), substituted “Navy Reserve” for “Naval Reserve” in section catchline. Pub. L. 109–163, § 515(b)(1)(T), substituted “Navy Reserve” for “Naval Reserve” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of

Amendments

and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 8625

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73