lion gules handling the banner of arms of the Armed Forces General Staff in dexter and a dolphin sable handling the banner of arms the Air Force in sinister) and compartment (mountains vert in dexter and water waves vert in sinister). Besides the Air Force itself, the following existing bodies have the right to bear coats of arms: base units, technical departments, commands, the Air Force Academy, the Inspection General of the Air Force and the Air Force Staff. The commanding officers of the base units and technical departments with a rank of colonel or above have also the right to bear a coat of arms. Exceptionally and if authorized by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, coats of arms can also be granted to other bodies not listed above whose commanding officers have the rank of major or above. The coats of arms of the bodies are usually represented in a heater shield with an aeronautical coronet, with or without the crest. Additional external elements can also be represented. The coats of arms can form a badge, for this use being represented in a round shield surrounded by a laurel wreath in dexter and an oak wreath in sinister, topped by the aeronautical coronet and the crest. The personal achievements of arms of commanding officers of the bodies are the coats of arms of the respective bodies, but with the aeronautical coronet replaced by a helmet with torse and mantling. These coats of arms can also include the crest and other external elements. The heraldic flags used by the Air Force are the distinctive flags (galhardetes), the standards (estandartes), the merit guidons (guiões de mérito), the guidons (guiões) and the pennants (flâmulas). The distinctive flags are borne by the general officers and usually are a quadrature of the coat of arms of the body they command. The standards are square banners (1 m × 1 m) with a field resulting from a geometric combination of quarterlies and gyronnies, over which a cross or a saltire may lap up, with the shield of the body in the center, surrounded by a scroll bearing either its designation or motto. The standard of the Air Force itself is its banner of arms. The guidon of merit is a square flag (0.75 m × 0.75 m) with the field azur with a spread eagle or, a bordure or with a palm