The flag is similar to that of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, first utilised in 1956[1] and is a common colour-scheme in British-aligned territories, used by fellow Commonwealth members such as Cyprus, India, Kenya and Nigeria.This emblem was first adopted in 1958, as an adaptation of the UK counterpart (the Unified Commanders-in-Chief), with a wedge tailed eagle replacing the generic one.This was originally proposed in 1958 by General Sir John Wilton, who wished for a more distinctively Australian symbol, and was opposed by some who wished to continue the tradition of expressing the services loyalty to the Crown.[2] This emblem was also in corporate settings and on the Defence Long Service Medal.[3] In 2000, the joint services flag was gazetted as the Australian Defence Force Ensign.