--- title: Behind Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Special Flag Ritual description: The flag flown when Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is in D.C. riffs on a Navy tradition. Here's when the Navy flags came into being. canonical: https://time.com/4982214/zinke-flag-navy-tradition/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-13T21:53:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:51:38.832Z article:section: History og:title: Behind Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Special Flag Ritual og:description: The flag flown when Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is in D.C. riffs on a Navy tradition og:url: https://time.com/4982214/zinke-flag-navy-tradition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730645fa5c06197a/6988e1f722fb855423e2346b/gettyimages-860788470.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3091 og:image:height: 1739 og:image:alt: WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 5: The flag of the Interior Department og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Behind Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Special Flag Ritual twitter:description: The flag flown when Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is in D.C. riffs on a Navy tradition twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730645fa5c06197a/6988e1f722fb855423e2346b/gettyimages-860788470.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There's a Reason Behind Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Special Flag Ritual > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 13, 2017 9:53 PM UTC  The flag of the Interior Department's deputy secretary, bottom, flew last week above the headquarters building in downtown Washington D.C. The flag of the Interior Department's deputy secretary, bottom, flew last week above the headquarters building in downtown Washington D.C. Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post—Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 13, 2017 9:53 PM UTC On Thursday, [The Washington](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wheres-zinke-the-interior-secretarys-special-flag-offers-clues/2017/10/12/68672476-aeb2-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.f25a2a5ae978) [_Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wheres-zinke-the-interior-secretarys-special-flag-offers-clues/2017/10/12/68672476-aeb2-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.f25a2a5ae978)gave Americans an easy way to tell when Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is in Washington, D.C.: when he’s there,[ his flag is flown ](http://time.com/4980898/ryan-zinke-interior-department-flag-ritual-donald-trump/)outside the headquarters. The flag, a “bison seal on a blue banner with seven white stars for the agency’s bureaus,” is brought down when he’s away. The trick works for Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, too, as he has a separate flag of his own. Zinke, a former Navy SEAL commander, is riffing on a tradition that has long been observed in the U.S. Navy. And that tradition has a good reason for existing: at sea, the custom is a way to point out which ship in a group the senior leader is on. That method can also “ensure that proper ceremonial honors are rendered to dignitaries and officers,” according to Peter C. Luebke, a historian at the U.S. Navy. And, in keeping with that sea-faring tradition, [there’s guidance for flying flags ashore as well.](https://doni.documentservices.dla.mil/US%20Navy%20Regulations/Chapter%2012%20-%20Flags,%20Pennants,%20Honors,%20Ceremonies%20and%20Customs.pdf?Mobile=1&Source=%2F%5Flayouts%2Fmobile%2Fdispform%2Easpx%3FList%3D1070268d%2D94df%2D4f0e%2Db69a%2D44b7748dfaaa%26View%3Dbb2a5aed%2Dcd92%2D4b26%2D8ae9%2D52cf7160c004%26ID%3D24%26CurrentPage%3D1) The mast a flag is hoisted on also indicates the stature of the visitor. For instance, Luebke adds, the [President’s flag](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/f/flag-sizes.html) has historically flown at the mainmast while a different flag for the Vice President is flown at the slightly shorter foremast. But the U.S. didn’t invent this tradition. Like many American customs, it was originally borrowed from the nation’s erstwhile colonial overlords. The British Royal Navy has been doing something like this since at least the 17th century, “when the Duke of York flew the lord high admiral’s flag in his ship in 1665,” Luebke says. The U.S. used the flag-raising tradition to indicate the rank of fleet commanders, squadron commanders and commodores, and added others during the Civil War. (The Army has a separate flag code.) “The expansion of the Navy during the Civil War required reorganization of how the Navy worked,” he says. “New tasks meant new ranks needed to be added. So we had all of these ranks that we didn’t have before that deserved flags. Before the Civil War, the U.S. Navy had no admirals.” One of the earliest examples of a federal agency head having a flag can been seen in this period, too. In 1866, a special insignia—a square blue flag with a white foul anchor in the center and four white stars at each corner—was designed to fly from the mainmast of a vessel whenever the Secretary of the Navy was aboard. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4982214/zinke-flag-navy-tradition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4982214/zinke-flag-navy-tradition/"},"headline":"There's a Reason Behind Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's Special Flag Ritual","datePublished":"2017-10-13T21:53:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:51:38.832Z","description":"The flag flown when Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is in D.C. riffs on a Navy tradition","url":"https://time.com/4982214/zinke-flag-navy-tradition/","keywords":["politics","Foreign Relations","washington"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730645fa5c06197a/6988e1f722fb855423e2346b/gettyimages-860788470.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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