Flag Officer Announcements

In U.S. usage, a “flag officer” is a very senior commissioned officer who is entitled to fly a personal command flag.

Legally and by custom this covers:

• Navy & Coast Guard: all admirals – rear admiral (lower half, one‑star), rear admiral (two‑star), vice admiral (three‑star), and admiral (four‑star).
• Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force: the equivalent grades (brigadier general and above) are usually called “general officers” in law, but are often grouped with admirals as general/flag officers because they have similar status and authority.

So in plain terms: in the sea services, all admirals are flag officers; in the land and air services, the comparable ranks are the generals (one‑star through four‑star).

Flag officers (admirals) and their general‑officer counterparts (generals) are the top tier of military leadership. They typically:

• Command very large organizations, such as fleets, service components, major commands, numbered armies, corps, air forces, or joint task forces.
• Serve in the most senior staff roles, such as service chiefs and vice chiefs, senior Pentagon directors, or heads of large defense agencies.
• Set strategy and policy, oversee major budgets and personnel decisions, and are responsible for the readiness and use of large parts of the armed forces in war and peace.

In the Dec. 18, 2025 announcement, for example, the nominees would command whole fleets, major Navy enterprises (submarines, naval aviation, medical, logistics), or serve as senior deputies at the Pentagon—typical flag‑officer‑level responsibilities.

For U.S. flag (and general) officers, the promotion process works roughly as follows:

1. Service selection: Each military service (Army, Navy, etc.) identifies officers it wants to promote to one‑star and above, based on performance and needs.
2. Presidential nomination: The service secretary and Secretary of Defense recommend names to the President, who formally nominates each officer for a specific rank and usually a specific position (as in the Dec. 18, 2025 release).
3. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC): Nominations go to the Senate; SASC reviews records, may hold hearings for the most senior posts, and then votes to report nominations to the full Senate.
4. Full Senate confirmation: The Senate votes to confirm. Only after confirmation can the officer be promoted and assume the new rank/assignment.

Every promotion to and within the flag/general ranks (one‑star and above) requires this presidential nomination and Senate confirmation.

Pete Hegseth is a former Army National Guard officer and media commentator who, in this timeline, was confirmed in January 2025 as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Defense (here styled on war.gov as “Secretary of War”). In that Cabinet‑level role he leads the Department of Defense/War and is responsible for announcing the President’s senior military nominations, including flag‑officer (admiral and general) promotions and assignments.

The “Secretary of War” title on the Dec. 18, 2025 release is a branding choice on the war.gov site for what U.S. law and most reporting still call the Secretary of Defense; it indicates the same top civilian in charge of the department, not a separate historical office.

Yes. In this context, Donald J. Trump is the sitting president making these nominations. He began his second term as the 47th U.S. president on Jan. 20, 2025, and the flag‑officer announcement is dated Dec. 18, 2025—within that term—so the nominations are his administration’s actions.

The full list of nominated officers and their proposed assignments is in the official Dec. 18, 2025 release itself. According to that document, the nominations are:

• Vice Adm. Robert M. Gaucher – reappointment as vice admiral; assignment as submarine direct reporting portfolio manager, Pentagon.
• Vice Adm. Jeffrey T. Jablon – reappointment as vice admiral; assignment as deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
• Rear Adm. Douglas C. Verissimo – appointment to vice admiral; assignment as commander, Naval Air Forces / Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
• Rear Adm. Darin K. Via – appointment to vice admiral; assignment as director, Defense Health Agency.
• Capt. Milton W. Troy III – appointment to rear admiral (lower half).

You can read the full text and context here: https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4364002/flag-officer-announcements/

After such an announcement, the usual next steps are:

1. Formal nomination sent to the Senate: The White House transmits each officer’s nomination (for both rank and billet) to the Senate.
2. Committee review: The Senate Armed Services Committee reviews nominations; for routine flag promotions this is typically done on paper without individual hearings.
3. Senate vote: Nominations are bundled and approved by voice vote or unanimous consent unless a senator places a “hold.” If there are holds, confirmations can be delayed for weeks or months.
4. Promotion and assumption of command: Once confirmed, the officer is promoted and then takes up the new assignment (often within days to a few months, depending on turnover dates and change‑of‑command schedules).

There is no fixed statutory timeline, but in the absence of political delays, flag‑officer nominations commonly clear the Senate within several weeks to a few months of being submitted.