The flag was officially authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on April 24, 1959 and was formally introduced to the public on April 30, 1959 at a ceremony at Naval Support Facility Carderock in Maryland.

It is used on land, displayed inside naval offices, in parades, and for other ceremonial occasions, and often on a staff at the quarterdeck of ships in port.

The following is details from the Naval Telecommunications Procedures, Flags, Pennants & Customs, NTP 13(B)

By Executive Order 10812 of 24 April 1959, the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy with the approval of the Secretary of Defense, established and prescribed an official flag for the United States Navy.

In the center of the flag is a device 3 feet 1 inch overall, consisting of the inner pictorial portion of the seal of the Department of the Navy (with the exception that a continuation of the sea has been substituted for the land area), in its proper colors within a circular yellow rope edging, all 2 feet 6 inches in diameter above a yellow scroll inscribed "UNITED STATES NAVY" in dark blue letters.