U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – Pole Hem Flag

Choose Your Options

Every U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Pole Hem Flag is made to order, so tell us how you want it built. These are the choices.

• Printed or sewn: Printed flags are dye-printed on 200 denier nylon, so fine seal detail reproduces exactly. Sewn flags are appliquéd and embroidered by hand in our Alexandria, Virginia shop: each color is a separate piece of fabric stitched to the field, with lettering and fine detail embroidered.
• Single-sided, double-sided or mirror-sided: A single-sided flag carries the design on the front only; the back is blank. A double-sided flag is two flags sewn back to back, so the design reads correctly on both sides. A mirror-sided flag is also two layers, but the back is a mirror image of the front.
• Plain finish: The Department of Homeland Security flag is made plain, with hemmed edges. Fringe is not permitted on this flag, so we do not offer it.
• Regular or Premium construction (sewn flags): Regular sewn flags are chain stitched. Premium sewn flags are lock stitched, a stronger interlocking stitch, and they carry a separate part number. Printed flags do not need this choice.
• Size: 3x5 FT, 4x6 FT, 5x8 FT are standard. For a custom size, give us the finished width and height you need.

Product Features

• Official Department of Homeland Security design: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Pole Hem Flag carries the Department of Homeland Security’s official emblem, reproduced to the agency’s design in the finish and size you order.
• Nylon field: lightweight nylon that hangs well on an indoor pole and carries cleanly in a parade.
• Pole hem finish: a sewn sleeve along the hoist edge that slides over an indoor or parade pole.
• Built your way: printed or sewn, single-sided, double-sided or mirror-sided, in standard or custom sizes.
• Made in the USA: every DHS flag we sell is made in the USA.
• Matched sets: order one flag or a set for every office, and the finish and size will be the same on each.

Historical Background

President George W. Bush signed the Homeland Security Act on November 25, 2002, the largest federal reorganization since the National Security Act of 1947. The Department of Homeland Security began operations on January 24, 2003 with Tom Ridge as its first Secretary, and on March 1, 2003 all or part of 22 agencies transferred into it, among them the Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service.

Secretary Ridge unveiled the department's seal on June 19, 2003. It shows a white eagle on a blue field whose wings break through a red inner ring into the white outer ring, with an olive branch of thirteen leaves and thirteen arrows in its talons and a shield of sky, land and sea on its breast. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was established within the department in 2018.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Flag: Symbolism at a Glance

• Wings breaking through the rings: Breaking through traditional bureaucracy to do the work of government differently.
• Shield in three sections: Air, land and sea, the domains the department protects.
• 22 stars: The 22 agencies that formed the department.
• Olive branch and thirteen arrows: The tradition of the Great Seal and the thirteen original states.