Canadian Forces ranks and insignia

Canadian Forces Ranks and Insignia

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Canadian Forces ranks and insignia

This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Canadian Forces. As the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces." This singular institution consists of thre...
are officially bilingual, the French language

French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
ranks are in italics.

! | Navy

Canadian Forces Maritime Command

Canadian Forces Maritime Command , also known as the Canadian Navy, is the navy of the Canadian Forces. While equal in rank and position, The Chief of the Maritime Staff takes precedence over the Chiefs of the Land and Air Staffs following the tradition of the Royal Navy....
! | Army ! | Air Force

Canadian Forces Air Command

Canadian Forces Air Command , also known as the Canadian Air Force, is the air force element of the Canadian Forces. AIRCOM is the descendant of the Royal Canadian Air Force , which was Canada's air force from its foundation in 1924 until February 1, 1968....
! | Description |- ! colspan="2" align="center" | Flag Officers (officiers généraux) ! align="center" | General Officers ! |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | St. Edward's crown

St. Edward's Crown

St Edward's Crown was one of the English Crown Jewels and remains one of the senior Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. It is the official coronation crown used exclusively in the Coronation of the British monarch of a new monarch....
, crossed sabre and baton, four maple leaves

Maple leaf

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Encyclopedia

This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Canadian Forces. As the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

French language

Officers

Navy

Canadian Forces Maritime Command

Canadian Forces Air Command

St. Edward's Crown

Maple leaf

Non-commissioned members

Navy

Canadian Forces Maritime Command

Canadian Forces Air Command

Canadian Forces Air Command , also known as the Canadian Air Force, is the air force element of the Canadian Forces. AIRCOM is the descendant of the Royal Canadian Air Force , which was Canada's air force from its foundation in 1924 until February 1, 1968....
! | Description |- ! colspan="3" align="center" | Senior Ranks (Rangs supérieurs) ! |- | align="center" valign="top" | | align="center" valign="top" | | align="center" valign="top" | | The Coat of Arms of Canada

Coat of arms of Canada

The Royal Coat of Arms of Canada is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Monarchy of Canada, and thus also of Canada. It is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British....
|- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | St. Edward's Crown

St. Edward's Crown

Laurel wreath

A laurel wreath is a circular wreath made of interlocking branches and leaves of the Bay Laurel , an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head....
|- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | St. Edward's Crown |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | Three inverted chevrons surmounted by a maple leaf |- ! colspan="3" align="center" | Junior Ranks (Rangs subalternes) ! |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | Two inverted chevrons surmounted by a maple leaf |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | Two inverted chevrons |- ! colspan="3" align="center" | Privates (Soldats) ! |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | One inverted chevron |- | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | valign="top" | | No insignia |- |}

Distinctive rank names

Some branches and regiments use distinctive rank names in place of Master Corporal, Corporal and Private:

Branch	Master Corporal	Corporal	Private
Armoured Branch Royal Canadian Armoured Corps The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps is the armoured branch of service of the Canadian Forces Land Force Command , including regular force and reserve regiments....	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Trooper Trooper Trooper may refer to* Trooper , a Canadian rock band* Trooper , a Romanian heavy metal band* Trooper , a military private rank* Trooper , a rank used by some state police agencies in the United States... (cavalier)
Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Forces ....	Master Bombardier (bombardier-chef)	Bombardier Bombardier (rank) Bombardier is a rank used in artillery units in the army of Commonwealth of Nations countries instead of Corporal. Lance-Bombardier is used instead of Lance-Corporal.... (bombardier)	Gunner Gunner (rank) Gunner is a military rank equivalent to Private in the British Army Royal Artillery and the artillery corps of other Commonwealth of Nations armies.... (artilleur)
Military Engineering Branch	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Sapper Sapper A sapper is an individual engineer soldier usually in British Army or Commonwealth military service.Considered the most elite combat engineer soldiers in the United States Army, a pionier in the German Army and a sapeur in the French Army, a sapper/combat engineer may perform any of a variety of combat engineering duties.... (sappeur)
Communications and Electronics Branch Communications and Electronics Branch The Communications and Electronics Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces ....	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Signalman Signalman (rank) Signalman is a military rank similar to that of Private , but is used within units that specialize in communication. See Signaller for more about the roles of Signalmen.... (signaleur)
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch The Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch is a personnel branch of the Canadian Forces ....	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Craftsman Private (rank) A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank . The term dates from the Middle Ages, where privates were known as "private soldiers" who were either hired, conscripted, or feudalism into service by a nobleman forming an army.... (artisan)
Infantry Branch members of guards regiments	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Guardsman Guardsman Guardsman is a military rank used instead of Private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state.... (garde)
Infantry Branch members of rifle regiments	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Rifleman Rifleman Rifleman is a private soldier in a rifle unit of infantry.... (carabinier)
Infantry Branch members of fusilier regiments	Master Corporal (caporal-chef)	Corporal (caporal)	Fusilier Fusilier Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.... (fusilier)

> The officers of some army regiments wear pre-unification rank insignia on their ceremonial uniforms (full dress

Full dress

Full dress is a category dress code s that refers to most formal clothing available in Western society....
and patrol dress). These insignia are nearly identical to those of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
: see British Army officer rank insignia

British Army officer rank insignia

|- align = center|Abbreviation:||FM||Gen||Lt Gen||Maj Gen||Brig||Col||Lt Col||Maj||Capt||Lt||2Lt||||OCdt|-|colspan = 8|1 Abeyance - appointments no longer made to this rank in peacetime....
for details. In the guard regiments Warrant Officers are known as Colour Sergeants and second lieutenants are known as Ensigns .

Naval officers still use the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British Armed Forces . From the mid-18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early 1940s....
-style rank insignia on mess uniforms, complete with executive curl (see Royal Navy officer rank insignia

Royal Navy officer rank insignia

OfficersRoyal Navy uniform were not authorised until 1748. At first the cut and style of the uniform differed considerably between ranks and specific rank insignia only sporadically used....
). The colour designations for specialist officers are not used except for naval medical officers who may use a variant of the standard rank slip-ons and shoulder boards incorporating a red background between the gold stripes of their rank.

External links

- official site with images of rank insignia for Navy, Army and Air Force.

Canadian Forces ranks and insignia

Officers

Non-commissioned members

Distinctive rank names

See also

External links