Military rank
Encyclopedia
Military rank is a system of hierarchical
relationships in armed forces
or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms. Ranking systems have been known for most of military history to be advantageous for military operations, in particular with regards to logistics, command, and coordination; as time continued and military operations became larger and more complex, military ranks increased and ranking systems themselves became more complex.
Within modern armed forces, the use of ranks is almost universal. Communist
states have sometimes abolished rank (e.g., the Soviet Russian Red Army
1918–1935, the Chinese
People's Liberation Army
1965–1988, and the Albanian Army 1966–1991), only to re-establish them after encountering operational difficulties of command and control.
, one for each of the ten "tribes" that had been created with the founding of the democracy
. Strategos literally means "army leader" and so it is usually translated as "general
". Originally these generals worked together with the old polemarch
os ("war lord") but over time the latter figure was absorbed into the generalship: each of the ten generals would rotate as polemarch for one day, and during this day his vote would serve as tie-breaker if necessary.
The ten generals were equals to one another; there was no hierarchy among them, however a basic form of democracy was in effect: For example, at the Battle of Marathon
in 490 BC, the generals determined the battle plan by majority vote. Particular assignments, however, might have been given to individual generals; inevitably there was a regular division of responsibilities.
The rank that was subordinate to a top general was a taxiarchos or taxiarhos, something akin to the modern brigadier
. In Sparta
, however, the title was polemarchos. Below this was the syntagmatarchis, which can be translated as "leader of a regiment
" (syntagma) and was therefore like a modern colonel
. Below him was the tagmatarches, a commanding officer of a tagma (near to the modern battalion
). The rank was roughly equivalent to the legatus
of a Roman legion
. Next was the lokhagos
, an officer who led an infantry unit called a lokhos that consisted of roughly a hundred men, much the same as in a modern company
led by a captain
.
A Greek cavalry (hippikon) regiment was called a hipparchia and was commanded by a hipparchos or hipparch
, but Spartan cavalry was led by a hipparmostes. A hippotoxotès was a mounted archer. A Greek cavalry company was led by a tetrarchès or tetrarch.
The rank and file of the military in most of the Greek city states was composed of ordinary citizens. Heavily armed foot soldiers were called hoplitès or hoplite
s and a hoplomachos was a drill or weapons instructor.
Once Athens
became a naval power, the top generals of the land armies had authority over the naval fleets as well. Under them, each warship
was commanded by a trièrarchos or trierarch
, a word which originally meant "trireme
officer" but persisted when other types of vessels came into use. Moreover, as in modern navies, the different tasks associated with running a ship were delegated to different subordinates. Specifically, the kybernètès was the helmsman, the keleustēs managed the rowing speed, and the trièraulès was the flute player who maintained the strike rate for the oarsmen. Following further specialization, the naval strategos was replaced by a nauarchos
, a sea officer equating to an admiral
.
With the rise of Macedon
ia under Philip II of Macedon
and Alexander the Great, the Greek military became professional, tactics became more sophisticated and additional levels of ranking developed. Foot soldiers were organized into heavy infantry phalanxes
called phalangites. These were among the first troops ever to be drilled, and they fought packed in a close rectangular formation, typically eight men deep, with a leader at the head of each column (or file) and a secondary leader in the middle so that the back rows could move off to the sides if more frontage was needed.
A tetrarchia was a unit of four files and a tetrarchès or tetrarch was a commander of four files; a dilochia was a double file and a dilochitès was a double-file leader; a lochos was a single file and a lochagos was a file leader; a dimoiria was a half file and a dimoirites was a half-file leader. Another name for the half file was a hèmilochion with a hèmilochitès being a half-file leader.
Different types of units, however, were divided differently and therefore their leaders had different titles. For example, under a numbering system by tens, a dekas or dekania was a unit of ten led by a dekarchos, a hekatontarchia was a unit of hundred led by a hekatontarchos and a khiliostys or khiliarchia was a unit of a thousand led by a khiliarchos.
The cavalry, for which Alexander became most famous (in a military sense), grew more varied. There were heavy cavalry and wing cavalry (ilè) units, the latter commanded by an ilarchos.
s after the reforms by Marius
. Under the new system, a legion would be commanded by a legate
(legatus), typically a senator
, for a three-year term. Immediately beneath the legate were six military tribune
s (tribuni militum), five of whom were young men of Equestrian
rank and one of whom was a nobleman who was headed for the Senate.
The tribuni militari were the Roman army's senior officers who commanded the rough equivalents to the US and British
armies battalions and brigades (the relevant modern ranks being major
, lieutenant colonel
, colonel
and brigadier general
). Note that these comparisons are only loose because the Roman army's command structure was much different from the organizational structure of its modern counterparts, which arose from the medieval mercenary companies, rather than from the writings of Fourth Century Roman writer Vegetius
and Caesar
's commentaries on his conquest of Gaul
and the civil war.
The term military tribune is sometimes translated into English as "colonel" — most notably by the late classicist Robert Graves
in his "Claudius
" novels and his translation of Suetonius
' Twelve Caesars — to avoid confusion with the political "tribunes of the people."
The fighting men in the legion were formed into ranks, rows of men who fought as a unit. Under Marius's new system, legions were divided into ten cohort
s (cohortes), each consisting of six centuries, each of between 60 and 160 men. Each century was led by a centurion
(centurio) who was assisted by a number of junior officers, such as an Optio. Centuries were further broken into ten contubernia of eight soldiers each. The most senior centurion in a legion was called primus pilus. The ranks of centurions in the individual cohorts were, in descending order, pilus prior, pilus posterior, princeps prior, princeps posterior, hastatus prior, and hastatus posterior. Individual soldiers were referred to as soldiers (milites) or legionaries (legionarii).
Roman discipline was severe, with all ranks subject to corporal and capital punishment at the commander's discretion. For example, if a cohort broke in battle, the typical punishment was decimation
, in which every tenth soldier, selected by lot, was killed. Decimation was not commonplace as lack of men would reduce combat effectiveness, which would eventually overcome the psychological "benefit" of keeping the troops in-line.
) also led by an appointed noyan
.
Ranking hierarchy:
One commander for each ten-thousand-army directly serves Khan.
Head of Ten thousand, Head of Thousand, Head of Hundred, Head of Ten
When the area of the country reaches enormous size, it is divided into suitable size of Khangziers and one of these Khanziers become the Great Khangzier. Each of these Khangzier has its own army, own administration. But all are accountable to the Great Khangzier. The Khangzier which is located at the furthest east become the Great Khangzier, since the East is a holy direction for Turks and Mongols.
unit led by an asapatish.
Historians have discovered the existence of the following ranks in Parthia
n and Sassanian
armies:
’s army was placed under the command of the High Constable
as commander-in-chief
. The High Constable had authority over the local constables, commanders of the garrisons of major castles. The High Constable had the help of the Field Marshal
, an officer that set up the army’s camp. (Marshals acted as chiefs of logistics and were also employed by royal and noble courts.) The High Constable derived his authority over the army from his role of head of the Cavalry.
The basic unit of the medieval army was the company
, a band of soldiers assigned (or raised) by a vassal lord
on behalf of his lord (in later times the King himself). The vassal lord in command of the company was a commissioned officer with the rank of captain
. Captain was derived from the Late Latin
word capitaneus (meaning head man or chief
).
The commissioned officer assisting the captain with command of the company was the lieutenant
. Lieutenant was derived from the French language
; the lieu meaning “place” as in a position; and tenant meaning “holding” as in “holding a position”; thus a “lieutenant” is somebody who holds a position in the absence of his superior. When he was not assisting the captain, the lieutenant commanded a unit called a platoon
, particularly a more specialized platoon. The word is derived from the 17th-century French peloton, meaning a small ball or small detachment of men, which came from pelote, a ball.
The commissioned officer carrying the (infantry) company’s flag was the ensign
. The word ensign was in fact derived from the Latin word insignia
. In cavalry companies the equivalent rank was cornet. In English usage, these ranks were merged into the single rank of Second Lieutenant
in the 19th Century.
Not all officers received a commission from the King. Certain specialists were granted a warrant, certifying their expertise as craftsmen. These warrant officers assisted the commissioned officers but ranked above the noncommissioned officers. They received their authority from superior officers rather than the King. The first NCOs were the armed servants (men-at-arms) of the aristocracy, assigned to command, organize and train the militia units raised for battle. After years of commanding a squad, an NCO could be promoted to sergeant
, the highest NCO rank. While a sergeant might have commanded a squad upon promotion, he usually became a staff officer. While commissioned staff officers assisted their commander with personnel, intelligence, operations and logistics, the sergeant was a jack of all trades, concerning himself with all aspects of administration to maintain the enlisted men serving under his commander. Over time, sergeants were differentiated into many ranks as various levels of sergeants were used by the commanders of various levels of units.
A corporal commanded a squad
. Squad derived from the Italian word for a “square” or “block” of soldiers. In fact, corporal was derived from the Italian caporal de squadra (head of the squad). Corporals were assisted by lancepesades. Lancepesades were veteran soldiers; lancepesade was derived from the Italian "lancia spezzata" meaning broken spear - the broken spear being a metaphor for combat experience, where such an occurrence was likely. The first lancepesades were simply experienced privates; who either assisted their corporal or performed the duties of a corporal themselves. It was this second function that made armies increasingly regard their lancepesades as a grade of corporal rather than a grade of private. As a result, the rank of Lance Corporal
was derived from combining lancepesade and corporal.
As the Middle Ages came to an end, kings increasingly relied on professional soldiers to fill the bottom ranks of their armies instead of militiamen. Each of these professionals began their careers as a private
. The private was a man who signed a private contract with the company commander, offering his services in return for pay. The money was raised through taxation; those yeomen (smallholding peasants) who did not fulfill their annual 40-day militia service paid a tax that funded professional soldiers recruited from the yeomanry. This money was handed to the company commanders from the royal treasury, the company commanders using the money to recruit the troops.
to distinguish him from lieutenants subordinate to mere captains. The sergeant acting as staff officer to the captain general was known as the sergeant-major general. This was eventually shortened to major general
, while captain general was shortened to simply general
. This is the reason a major
outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks a major general.
As armies grew bigger, heraldry and unit identification remained primarily a matter of the regiment. Brigades headed by brigadier generals were the units invented as a tactical unit, by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus the second ("Gustav II Adolf," who was killed at the battle of Lützen 1632). It was introduced to overcome the normal army structure, consisting of regiments. The so-called “brigada” was a mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally artillery
too, designated for a special task. The size of such “brigada” was a reinforced company up to two regiments. The “brigada” was a 17th century form of the modern “task force”. In some armies "Brigadier General" has been shortened to "Brigadier
".
Around the end of the 16th century, companies were grouped into regiments. The officers commissioned to lead these regiments were in fact called colonels (column officers). They were first appointed in Spain by King Ferdinand II of Aragon
where they were also known as coronellos (crown officers) since they were appointed by the Crown. Thus the English pronunciation of the word colonel.
The first colonels were captains granted command of their regiments by commission of the King. The lieutenants of the colonel were the lieutenant colonel
s. In the 17th century, the sergeant of the colonel was the sergeant major
. These were field officers, third in command of their regiments (after their colonels and lieutenant colonels), with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeants major (although obviously on a smaller scale). The older position became known as sergeant major general
to distinguish it. Over time, the sergeant was dropped from both titles since both ranks were used for commissioned officers. This gave rise to the modern ranks of major
and major general.
The full title of sergeant major fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment.
Regiments were later split into battalions with a lieutenant colonel as a commanding officer
and a major as an executive officer
.
These are codified in the Geneva Conventions
, which distinguish officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men.
Apart from conscripted
personnel one can distinguish:
are distinguished from other military members (or an officer in training) by holding a commission; they are trained or training as leaders and hold command positions.
Officers are further generally separated into four levels:
s and larger, or flotilla
s or squadrons
of ships), are referred to variously as general officers
(in armies, marines, and some air forces), flag officer
s (in navies and coast guards), or air officer
s (in some Commonwealth
air forces).
General-officer ranks typically include (from the most senior) general
, lieutenant general
, major general
, and brigadier general
, although there are many variations like division general or (air-, ground-) force general.
Flag-officer ranks, named after the traditional practice of showing the presence of such an officer with a flag on a ship and often land, typically include (from the most senior) admiral
, vice admiral
and rear admiral
. In some navies, such as Canada's
, the rank of commodore
is a flag rank.
In the United Kingdom
and most other Commonwealth
air forces, air-officer
ranks usually include air chief marshal
, air marshal
, air vice-marshal
and air commodore
. For some air forces, however, such as those of Canada
, United States
and many other air forces, general officer rank titles are used. Brazil and Argentina use a system of general officer ranks based on the term brigadier.
In some forces there may be one or more superior ranks to the common examples, above, that are given distinguishing titles, such as field marshal
or general of the armies (many armies), fleet admiral (U.S. Navy), marshal of the Royal Air Force
, or other national air force. These ranks have often been discontinued, such as in Germany
and Canada
, or limited to wartime and/or honorific promotion, such as in the United Kingdom
and the United States
.
In various countries, particularly the United States, these may be referred to as "star ranks" for the number of stars worn on some rank insignia: typically one-star for Brigadier General or equivalent with the addition of a star for each subsequent rank. In the United States, five stars has been the maximum used in all services (excluding the Marines
and Coast Guard, which have only used four). There is also a theoretical six-star rank held by John J. Pershing
and to which George Washington
was posthumously promoted, referred to as the General of the Armies of the United States. Additionally, see admiral of the Navy
for the US Navy's Six-Star equivalent, awarded to Admiral George Dewey
and subsequently removed after his death.
Some titles are not genuine ranks, but either functions assumed by generals or honorific titles. For instance, in the French Army
général de corps d'armée
is a function assumed by some généraux de division
, and maréchal de France
, which is a distinction denoting the most superior military office, but one that has often neutered the practical command powers of those on whom it is conferred. In the United States Navy
, a commodore
currently is a senior captain
commanding a squadron
that is too small for a rear admiral
to command, although that name has historically been used as a rank. The title (not rank) of commodore can also indicate an officer who is senior to a ship's captain (since only the ship's commander is addressed as captain while underway). Marine captains are referred to as major to distinguish themselves while shipboard.
s, also called "field-grade officers" or "senior officers", are officers who typically command units that can be expected to operate independently for short periods of time (i.e., infantry battalions, cavalry or artillery regiments, warships, air squadrons
). Field officers also commonly fill staff positions of superior commands.
The term "field(-grade) officer" is primarily used by armies and marines; air forces, navies and coast guards generally prefer the term "senior officer." The two terms are not necessarily synonymous.
Typical army and marine field officer ranks include colonel
(icon), lieutenant colonel
, major
and, in the British army, captains holding an adjutant
's appointment. In many Commonwealth countries the field rank of brigadier
is used, although it fills the position held by brigadier general in other countries.
Naval and coast guard senior officer ranks include captain and commander
. In some countries, the more senior rank of commodore
is also included. In others lieutenant-commanders, as equivalents to army and marine majors, are considered senior officers.
Commonwealth air force senior officer ranks include group captain
, wing commander
, and squadron leader
, where such ranks are still used.
, or a field artillery battery.
Typical army company officer ranks include captain and various grades of lieutenant
. Typical naval and coast guard junior officer ranks include grades of lieutenant commander
, lieutenant, lieutenant junior grade and ensign
. Commonwealth (excluding Canada) air force junior officer ranks usually include flight lieutenant
, flying officer
, and pilot officer
.
"The [U.S.] commissioned officer corps is divided into 10 pay grades (O-1 through O-10). Officers in pay grades O-1 through O-3 are considered company grade officers. In the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, these pay grades correspond to the ranks of second lieutenant (O-1), first lieutenant (O-2), and captain (O-3), and in the Navy, ensign, lieutenant junior grade, and lieutenant. Officers in the next three pay grades (O-4 through O-6) are considered field grade officers. In the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, these pay grades correspond to the ranks of major (O-4), lieutenant colonel (O-5), and colonel (O-6), and in the Navy, lieutenant commander, commander, and captain. The highest four pay grades are reserved for general officers in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and flag officers in the Navy. The ranks associated with each pay grade are as follows: in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, brigadier general (O-7), major general (O-8), lieutenant general (O-9), and general (O-10); in the Navy, rear admiral-lower half, rear admiral-upper half, vice admiral, and admiral."
for Army or Air Force Training.
In the US and several other western forces, officers in training are referred to as student officers, and carry the rank of cadet
(Army and Air Force) or midshipman
(Navy, and in some countries, Marines). These officers may be serving at a military academy
, or, as common in the United States, as members of a military training unit attached to a civilian college or university, such as an ROTC unit. This is due to a requirement that commissioned officers have at least a four-year degree. The British Army refers to its trainee officers as officer cadets (OCdt), who hold no authority over other ranks (except when appointed to carry out a role as part of training). OCdts are referred to as Mister/Miss until the completion of the early stages of their training, thereafter non-officers will refer to him/her as Sir/Ma'am.
While Cadet has always been a rank of limited authority and prestige (cadets and US Navy midshipmen have no authority over commissioned personnel, warrants, or officers, only subordinate cadets), midshipman has historically been a rank with limited leadership responsibility, particularly in the Royal Navy. This tradition was continued by the US Navy after its original adoption of the rank, but now US Navy midshipmen are limited in the same manner as cadets in the other US services. Additionally, US Marine officers in training are also midshipmen, trained and educated alongside their naval counterparts, and wear distinctive insignia to indicate their branch of service.
Note: US Coast Guard Academy students are referred to as cadets, while those attending the military branch's Officer Candidate School
(OCS) are officer candidates.
In the US an alternative to spending four years as a cadet or midshipmen is for college graduates with a four-year degree to attend Officer Candidate School, an intensive twelve week training course designed to convert college graduates into military officers. Each service has at least one, and usually several, OCS facilities. Students at these programs are called officer candidate
s.
s (as receiving authority by virtue of a warrant
) are a hybrid rank treated slightly differently in each country and/or service. WOs may either be effectively senior non-commissioned officer
s or an entirely separate grade between commissioned and non-commissioned officers, usually held by specialist personnel.
In the United States, warrant officers are appointed by warrant then commissioned by the President of the United States at the rank of chief warrant officer.
(ORs) in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, and non-commissioned members (NCMs) in Canada.
s (NCOs) are enlisted personnel, under the command of an officer, granted delegated authority to supervise other military members or assigned significant administrative responsibilities. In U.S. Army parlance: "NCOs are the backbone of the Army!"http://www.army.mil/leaders/SMA/creed.htm They are responsible for the care and direct control of junior military members, often functioning in the smaller field units as executive officer
s.
Even the most senior NCO officially ranks beneath the most junior commissioned officer or warrant officer. However, most senior NCOs have more experience, possibly including combat, than junior officers. In many armies, because junior officers have a great amount of responsibility and authority but little operational experience, they are paired with senior NCO advisers. In some organizations, senior NCOs may have formal responsibility and informal respect beyond that of junior officers, but less than that of warrant officers. Many warrant officers come from the ranks of mid-career NCOs. In some countries warrant ranks replace senior enlisted ranks.
NCO ranks typically include a varying number of grades of sergeant
and corporal
(Air Force, Army and Marines), or chief petty officer
and petty officer
(Navy and Coast Guard). In many navies the term rate is used to designate specialty, while rank denotes paygrade.
Warrant officers do not come under the non-commissioned officer branch. They are commissioned with a warrant.
, airman
/aircraftman
, or seaman
(starting with seaman recruit
in the United States Navy and Coast Guard). In the United States Marine Corps individuals of all ranks regardless of command status may be referred to as "marine". In some countries and services, personnel in different branches have different titles. These may have a variety of grades, such as private first class
, but these usually only reflect variations in pay, not increased authority. These may or may not technically be ranks, depending on the country and/or service. Each rank gives the individual an indication of how long and how well they have served in combat and training.
in most monarchies or a Presidential Commission in many other countries. In the Commonwealth, warrant officers hold a Royal or Presidential Warrant. In the United States, officers are appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate
. Most officers are approved en bloc by voice vote
, but flag officers are usually required to appear before the Armed Services Committee
and answer questions to the satisfaction of its members, prior to a vote on their commission.
NCOs are appointed by an instrument of appointment, a written document, often a certificate, usually from the service head. Entry into service is often referred to as enlistment throughout the English speaking world, even in countries where soldiers do not technically enlist.
Sometimes personnel serve in an appointment which is higher than their actual rank. For instance, commodore used to be an appointment of captain
in the Royal Navy
and lance corporal
used to be an appointment of private in the British Army
.
ground forces or U.S. Army
infantry
units can serve as a template for this purpose. It should be remembered that different countries will often use their own systems that don't match the presentation here.
Under this system, starting from the bottom and working up, a corporal leads a fireteam
consisting of three other individuals. A sergeant leads a squad
consisting of three fireteams. As a result, a full squad numbers 13 individuals. Squads usually have numbered designations (e.g., 1st Squad).
Generally, in most armies and marine units, a lieutenant or equivalent rank commands a platoon
, which can consist of three or four squads. For example, in U.S. Marine infantry
units, rifle platoons usually consist of three rifle squads of 13 men each, with a Navy corpsman, the platoon commander, and a platoon sergeant (i.e., a staff sergeant
who serves as second-in-command). An infantry platoon can number from 42 to 55 individuals, depending on the service. Platoons are usually numbered (e.g., 1st Platoon) or named after their primary function (e.g., Service Platoon).
A captain or equivalent rank commands a company
, usually consisting of four platoons (three line platoons and one heavy weapons platoon). His headquarters can include a first sergeant
and as many as seven others. As such, a company can comprise from roughly 175 to 225 individuals. Equivalent units also commanded by captains are batteries (for field artillery units) and detachments. In English speaking countries, a company (or troop in the cavalry or armor, and battery in the artillery) is usually designated by a letter (e.g., A Company). In non-English speaking countries, they are usually numbered. In most Commonwealth armies a company is commanded by a major, assisted by a captain.
A lieutenant colonel or equivalent rank commands a battalion
or a squadron
, often consisting of four companies, plus the various members of his headquarters. A battalion is around 500–1,500 men and usually consists of between two and six companies.
A colonel or equivalent commands a regiment
or group
, often consisting of four battalions (for an Infantry unit) or five to six air groups (for a wing). Battalions and regiments are usually numbered, either as a separate battalion or as part of a regimental structure (e.g., 1-501st Infantry in the US Army).
In these latter, abstractions cease to be helpful and it becomes necessary to turn to an actual unit. The 1st Battalion
of the 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force consists of three infantry companies, one weapons company, and one headquarters and service company. Above that, the 1st Marine Regiment (aka First Marines) consists of four such battalions and one headquarters company. Marine Air Control Group 18
of 1st Marine Air Wing of the III Marine Expeditionary Force
consists of four squadrons, one battery, and one detachment, a mix of different-sized units under a regimental equivalent-sized unit.
The next level has traditionally been a brigade
, commanded by a brigadier general, and containing two or more regiments. But this structure is considered obsolete today. At the present time, in the U.S. Army
, a brigade is roughly equal to or a little larger than a regiment, consisting of three to seven battalions. Strength typically ranges from 1,500 to 3,500 personnel. In the U.S. Marines, brigades are only formed for certain missions. In size and nature they are larger and more varied collections of battalions than is common for a regiment, fitting them for their traditional role as the smallest formation able to operate independently on a battlefield without external logistical tactical support. Brigades are usually numbered (e.g., 2nd Brigade).
The level above regiment and brigade is the division
, commanded by a major general and consisting of from 10,000 to 20,000 persons. The 1st Marine Division, for example, is made up of four marine regiments (of the type described above), one assault amphibian battalion, one reconnaissance battalion, two light armored reconnaissance battalions, one combat engineer battalion, one tank battalion, and one headquarters battalion—totalling more than 19,000 marines. (Within the headquarters battalion are one headquarters company, one service company, one military police
company, one communications company, and one truck company.) An equivalent elsewhere within the same marine expeditionary force (MEF) might be a MEF logistics group (MLG) - which is not a regimental-sized unit (as the word "group" implies), but rather a large support unit consisting of several battalions of support personnel. Divisions are normally numbered, but can be named after a function or personage.
Considering such a variety of units, the command sizes for any given rank will vary widely. Not all units are as troop intensive as infantry forces need to be. Tank
and artillery
crews, for example, involve far fewer personnel. Numbers also differ for non-combat units such as quartermaster
s, cooks, and hospital staff. Beyond this, in any real situation, not all units will be at full strength and there will be various attachments and detachments of assorted specialists woven throughout the system.
The 1st Marine Division is part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, which also includes the 3rd Marine Air Wing, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade (as required), three marine expeditionary units (featuring helicopter
groups), and a battalion-sized marine air ground task force. In the U.S. Marine Corps there are three marine expeditionary forces.
In the U.S. Army, the level above division is called a corps
instead of an expeditionary force. It is commanded by a lieutenant general. In many armies, a corps numbers around 60,000, usually divided into three divisions. Corps (and similar organizations) are normally designated with roman numerals and their nationality when operating in a combined (international) force, e.g. V (US) Corps, VIII (ROK) Corps, II MEF, I Canadian Corps.
During World War II, due to the large scale of combat, multiple corps were combined into armies
commanded in theory by a general (four stars), but often by a lieutenant general (three stars), and comprising as many as 240,000 troops. Armies are numbered by spelled-out numerals or functional titles, using their nationality in "combined" forces (e.g., Eighth US Army, Third ROK Army, British Army of the Rhine). These were in their turn formed into army group
s, these being the largest field organization handled by a single commander in modern warfare. Army groups included between 400,000 and 1,500,000 troops. Army groups received Arabic numeral designations and national designations when combined.
These examples illustrate a standard that holds true all over the world and throughout military history, namely that higher rank generally implies command of larger units in a nested system of ranks and commands. The specific size of a command for any given rank will, however, depend on the task the unit performs, the nature of weapons used, and the strategies of warfare.
for detailed rank listing
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
relationships in armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms. Ranking systems have been known for most of military history to be advantageous for military operations, in particular with regards to logistics, command, and coordination; as time continued and military operations became larger and more complex, military ranks increased and ranking systems themselves became more complex.
Within modern armed forces, the use of ranks is almost universal. Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
states have sometimes abolished rank (e.g., the Soviet Russian Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
1918–1935, the Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
1965–1988, and the Albanian Army 1966–1991), only to re-establish them after encountering operational difficulties of command and control.
Greek ranks
From 501 BC the Athenians annually elected ten individuals to the rank of strategosStrategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
, one for each of the ten "tribes" that had been created with the founding of the democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. Strategos literally means "army leader" and so it is usually translated as "general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
". Originally these generals worked together with the old polemarch
Polemarch
A polemarch was a senior military title in various ancient Greek city states . The title is composed out of the polemos and archon and translates as "warleader" or "warlord", one of the nine archontes appointed annually in Athens...
os ("war lord") but over time the latter figure was absorbed into the generalship: each of the ten generals would rotate as polemarch for one day, and during this day his vote would serve as tie-breaker if necessary.
The ten generals were equals to one another; there was no hierarchy among them, however a basic form of democracy was in effect: For example, at the Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...
in 490 BC, the generals determined the battle plan by majority vote. Particular assignments, however, might have been given to individual generals; inevitably there was a regular division of responsibilities.
The rank that was subordinate to a top general was a taxiarchos or taxiarhos, something akin to the modern brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
. In Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, however, the title was polemarchos. Below this was the syntagmatarchis, which can be translated as "leader of a regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
" (syntagma) and was therefore like a modern colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
. Below him was the tagmatarches, a commanding officer of a tagma (near to the modern battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
). The rank was roughly equivalent to the legatus
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
of a Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
. Next was the lokhagos
Lokhagos
Lochagos is used in the Greek language to mean "Captain". More precisely, it means "leader of a lochos".-Ancient Use:The term has been used since the times of Ancient Greece, where the place of the rank in the military hierarchy differed from city-state to city-state. For example, Xenophon...
, an officer who led an infantry unit called a lokhos that consisted of roughly a hundred men, much the same as in a modern company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
led by a captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
.
A Greek cavalry (hippikon) regiment was called a hipparchia and was commanded by a hipparchos or hipparch
Hipparchos (cavalry officer)
A Hipparchus or Hipparch was the title of an ancient Greek cavalry officer, commanding a hipparchia ; two such units were commanded by an Epihipparchos....
, but Spartan cavalry was led by a hipparmostes. A hippotoxotès was a mounted archer. A Greek cavalry company was led by a tetrarchès or tetrarch.
The rank and file of the military in most of the Greek city states was composed of ordinary citizens. Heavily armed foot soldiers were called hoplitès or hoplite
Hoplite
A hoplite was a citizen-soldier of the Ancient Greek city-states. Hoplites were primarily armed as spearmen and fought in a phalanx formation. The word "hoplite" derives from "hoplon" , the type of the shield used by the soldiers, although, as a word, "hopla" could also denote weapons held or even...
s and a hoplomachos was a drill or weapons instructor.
Once Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
became a naval power, the top generals of the land armies had authority over the naval fleets as well. Under them, each warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
was commanded by a trièrarchos or trierarch
Trierarch
Trierarch was the title of officers who commanded a trireme in the classical Greek world. In Athens and a few other states this officer was also required to pay for the outfitting and maintenance of the ship. Trierarchs thus had to be men of considerable means, since the expenses incurred could...
, a word which originally meant "trireme
Trireme
A trireme was a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar...
officer" but persisted when other types of vessels came into use. Moreover, as in modern navies, the different tasks associated with running a ship were delegated to different subordinates. Specifically, the kybernètès was the helmsman, the keleustēs managed the rowing speed, and the trièraulès was the flute player who maintained the strike rate for the oarsmen. Following further specialization, the naval strategos was replaced by a nauarchos
Navarch
Navarch is a Greek word meaning "leader of the ships", which in some states became the title of an office equivalent to that of a modern admiral.- Historical usage :...
, a sea officer equating to an admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
.
With the rise of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia under Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
and Alexander the Great, the Greek military became professional, tactics became more sophisticated and additional levels of ranking developed. Foot soldiers were organized into heavy infantry phalanxes
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
called phalangites. These were among the first troops ever to be drilled, and they fought packed in a close rectangular formation, typically eight men deep, with a leader at the head of each column (or file) and a secondary leader in the middle so that the back rows could move off to the sides if more frontage was needed.
A tetrarchia was a unit of four files and a tetrarchès or tetrarch was a commander of four files; a dilochia was a double file and a dilochitès was a double-file leader; a lochos was a single file and a lochagos was a file leader; a dimoiria was a half file and a dimoirites was a half-file leader. Another name for the half file was a hèmilochion with a hèmilochitès being a half-file leader.
Different types of units, however, were divided differently and therefore their leaders had different titles. For example, under a numbering system by tens, a dekas or dekania was a unit of ten led by a dekarchos, a hekatontarchia was a unit of hundred led by a hekatontarchos and a khiliostys or khiliarchia was a unit of a thousand led by a khiliarchos.
The cavalry, for which Alexander became most famous (in a military sense), grew more varied. There were heavy cavalry and wing cavalry (ilè) units, the latter commanded by an ilarchos.
Roman ranks
The use of formalized ranks came into widespread use with the Roman legionRoman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
s after the reforms by Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
. Under the new system, a legion would be commanded by a legate
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
(legatus), typically a senator
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
, for a three-year term. Immediately beneath the legate were six military tribune
Military tribune
A military tribune was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion...
s (tribuni militum), five of whom were young men of Equestrian
Equestrian (Roman)
The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians , a hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era and during the early Republic . A member of the equestrian order was known as an eques...
rank and one of whom was a nobleman who was headed for the Senate.
The tribuni militari were the Roman army's senior officers who commanded the rough equivalents to the US and British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
armies battalions and brigades (the relevant modern ranks being major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
, lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
, colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
). Note that these comparisons are only loose because the Roman army's command structure was much different from the organizational structure of its modern counterparts, which arose from the medieval mercenary companies, rather than from the writings of Fourth Century Roman writer Vegetius
Vegetius
Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, commonly referred to simply as Vegetius, was a writer of the Later Roman Empire. Nothing is known of his life or station beyond what he tells us in his two surviving works: Epitoma rei militaris , and the lesser-known Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae, a guide to...
and Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's commentaries on his conquest of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
and the civil war.
The term military tribune is sometimes translated into English as "colonel" — most notably by the late classicist Robert Graves
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
in his "Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
" novels and his translation of Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
' Twelve Caesars — to avoid confusion with the political "tribunes of the people."
The fighting men in the legion were formed into ranks, rows of men who fought as a unit. Under Marius's new system, legions were divided into ten cohort
Cohort (military unit)
A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...
s (cohortes), each consisting of six centuries, each of between 60 and 160 men. Each century was led by a centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
(centurio) who was assisted by a number of junior officers, such as an Optio. Centuries were further broken into ten contubernia of eight soldiers each. The most senior centurion in a legion was called primus pilus. The ranks of centurions in the individual cohorts were, in descending order, pilus prior, pilus posterior, princeps prior, princeps posterior, hastatus prior, and hastatus posterior. Individual soldiers were referred to as soldiers (milites) or legionaries (legionarii).
Roman discipline was severe, with all ranks subject to corporal and capital punishment at the commander's discretion. For example, if a cohort broke in battle, the typical punishment was decimation
Decimation (Roman Army)
Decimation |ten]]") was a form of military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth".-Procedure:...
, in which every tenth soldier, selected by lot, was killed. Decimation was not commonplace as lack of men would reduce combat effectiveness, which would eventually overcome the psychological "benefit" of keeping the troops in-line.
Turko-Mongol ranks (Ancestral Central Asian Tribes)
There were no ranks in the modern sense of a hierarchy of titles, although the army was organized into a hierarchical command. The organization of the army was based on the decimal system, invented by Oguz Khagan, much like that of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. The army was built upon a squad of ten (aravt) led by an appointed chief. Ten of these would then compose a company of a hundred (zuut), also led by an appointed chief. The next unit was a regiment of a thousand (myangat) led by an appointed noyan. The largest organic unit was a ten thousand man unit (tumenTumen
Tumen or Tümen was a part of the decimal system used by Turkic and Mongol peoples to organize their armies. Tumen is an army unit of 10,000 soldiers...
) also led by an appointed noyan
Noyan
Noyan, noyon was a title of authority in the Mongol Empire and later periods...
.
Ranking hierarchy:
One commander for each ten-thousand-army directly serves Khan.
Head of Ten thousand, Head of Thousand, Head of Hundred, Head of Ten
When the area of the country reaches enormous size, it is divided into suitable size of Khangziers and one of these Khanziers become the Great Khangzier. Each of these Khangzier has its own army, own administration. But all are accountable to the Great Khangzier. The Khangzier which is located at the furthest east become the Great Khangzier, since the East is a holy direction for Turks and Mongols.
Persian ranks
The army of ancient Persia consisted of manageable military groupings under the individual commands. Starting at the bottom, a unit of 10 was called a dathabam and was led by a dathapatish. A unit of 1,000 was a hazarabam and was commanded by a hazarapatish. A unit of 10,000 was a baivarabam and was commanded by a baivarapatish. The Greeks called such masses of troops a myrias or myriad. Among mounted troops, an asabam was a cavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
unit led by an asapatish.
Historians have discovered the existence of the following ranks in Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n and Sassanian
Sassanid army
The birth of the Sassanid army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I , the founder of the Sassanid dynasty, to the throne. Ardashir aimed at the revival of the Persian Empire, and to further this aim, he reformed the military by forming a standing army which was under his personal command and whose...
armies:
- Commander in Chief: Eran SpahbodSpahbodSpahbod or Spahbed , is derived from the words Spah and bod ; or "Aspah'Paeity" , and means commander of cavaliers/ knights; alternatively Spah Salar was a rank used in the Parthian empire and more widely in the Sassanid Empire of Persia...
(to be replaced with four SpahbodSpahbodSpahbod or Spahbed , is derived from the words Spah and bod ; or "Aspah'Paeity" , and means commander of cavaliers/ knights; alternatively Spah Salar was a rank used in the Parthian empire and more widely in the Sassanid Empire of Persia...
s, one for each frontier of the Empire during the reign of Khosrau IKhosrau IKhosrau I , also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just Khosrau I (also called Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan or Anushirwan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just...
). - Commander of the CavalryCavalryCavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
: Aspwargan Salar (Parthian) or Aswaran Salar (Sassanian). - Commander of the Archers: Tirbodh
- Commander of the infantryInfantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
: Paygan Salarapoo - CastellanCastellanA castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
: ArgbadhArgbadhArgbadh were a class of military commanders in charge of castles and fortresses of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between 3rd and 7th centuries CE....
or ArgbodArgbadhArgbadh were a class of military commanders in charge of castles and fortresses of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between 3rd and 7th centuries CE.... - Commander of a frontier March: Marzpawn (Parthian) or MarzbanMarzbanMarzban were a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE....
(Sassanian) - MarzbanMarzbanMarzban were a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE....
of Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
n Marches was called Kenarang.
Medieval ranks
There were not any real ranks in the Medieval or Dark age armies of Europe. Authority was based on position in the feudal hierarchy. Vassals would often be given some measure of command over the knights and men-at-arms they supplied the king during wartime, but there was no defined chain of command, and all major decisions rested with the king (or appointed field marshal) and his advisers.High command in medieval armies
The kingMonarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
’s army was placed under the command of the High Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
as commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
. The High Constable had authority over the local constables, commanders of the garrisons of major castles. The High Constable had the help of the Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
, an officer that set up the army’s camp. (Marshals acted as chiefs of logistics and were also employed by royal and noble courts.) The High Constable derived his authority over the army from his role of head of the Cavalry.
Origins of modern ranks
As the Middle Ages came to an end, the rank structure of medieval armies became more formalized. The top officers were known as commissioned officers because their rank came from a royal commission. Army commissions were reserved for the elite — the aristocracy of mainland Europe and the aristocracy and gentry of Great Britain.The basic unit of the medieval army was the company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
, a band of soldiers assigned (or raised) by a vassal lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
on behalf of his lord (in later times the King himself). The vassal lord in command of the company was a commissioned officer with the rank of captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
. Captain was derived from the Late Latin
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
word capitaneus (meaning head man or chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
).
The commissioned officer assisting the captain with command of the company was the lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Lieutenant was derived from the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
; the lieu meaning “place” as in a position; and tenant meaning “holding” as in “holding a position”; thus a “lieutenant” is somebody who holds a position in the absence of his superior. When he was not assisting the captain, the lieutenant commanded a unit called a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
, particularly a more specialized platoon. The word is derived from the 17th-century French peloton, meaning a small ball or small detachment of men, which came from pelote, a ball.
The commissioned officer carrying the (infantry) company’s flag was the ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
. The word ensign was in fact derived from the Latin word insignia
Insignia
Insignia or insigne pl -nia or -nias : a symbol or token of personal power, status or office, or of an official body of government or jurisdiction...
. In cavalry companies the equivalent rank was cornet. In English usage, these ranks were merged into the single rank of Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in the 19th Century.
Not all officers received a commission from the King. Certain specialists were granted a warrant, certifying their expertise as craftsmen. These warrant officers assisted the commissioned officers but ranked above the noncommissioned officers. They received their authority from superior officers rather than the King. The first NCOs were the armed servants (men-at-arms) of the aristocracy, assigned to command, organize and train the militia units raised for battle. After years of commanding a squad, an NCO could be promoted to sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
, the highest NCO rank. While a sergeant might have commanded a squad upon promotion, he usually became a staff officer. While commissioned staff officers assisted their commander with personnel, intelligence, operations and logistics, the sergeant was a jack of all trades, concerning himself with all aspects of administration to maintain the enlisted men serving under his commander. Over time, sergeants were differentiated into many ranks as various levels of sergeants were used by the commanders of various levels of units.
A corporal commanded a squad
Squad
In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
. Squad derived from the Italian word for a “square” or “block” of soldiers. In fact, corporal was derived from the Italian caporal de squadra (head of the squad). Corporals were assisted by lancepesades. Lancepesades were veteran soldiers; lancepesade was derived from the Italian "lancia spezzata" meaning broken spear - the broken spear being a metaphor for combat experience, where such an occurrence was likely. The first lancepesades were simply experienced privates; who either assisted their corporal or performed the duties of a corporal themselves. It was this second function that made armies increasingly regard their lancepesades as a grade of corporal rather than a grade of private. As a result, the rank of Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...
was derived from combining lancepesade and corporal.
As the Middle Ages came to an end, kings increasingly relied on professional soldiers to fill the bottom ranks of their armies instead of militiamen. Each of these professionals began their careers as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
. The private was a man who signed a private contract with the company commander, offering his services in return for pay. The money was raised through taxation; those yeomen (smallholding peasants) who did not fulfill their annual 40-day militia service paid a tax that funded professional soldiers recruited from the yeomanry. This money was handed to the company commanders from the royal treasury, the company commanders using the money to recruit the troops.
Origins of higher ranks
As armies grew larger, composed of multiple companies, one captain was granted general (overall) authority over the field armies by the King. (National armies were the armies of the kings. Field armies were armies raised by the King to enter the battle field in preparation for major battles.) In French history, “lieutenant du roi” was a title born by the officer sent with military powers to represent the king in certain provinces. A lieutenant du roi was sometimes known as a lieutenant generalLieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
to distinguish him from lieutenants subordinate to mere captains. The sergeant acting as staff officer to the captain general was known as the sergeant-major general. This was eventually shortened to major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, while captain general was shortened to simply general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
. This is the reason a major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks a major general.
As armies grew bigger, heraldry and unit identification remained primarily a matter of the regiment. Brigades headed by brigadier generals were the units invented as a tactical unit, by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus the second ("Gustav II Adolf," who was killed at the battle of Lützen 1632). It was introduced to overcome the normal army structure, consisting of regiments. The so-called “brigada” was a mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
too, designated for a special task. The size of such “brigada” was a reinforced company up to two regiments. The “brigada” was a 17th century form of the modern “task force”. In some armies "Brigadier General" has been shortened to "Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
".
Around the end of the 16th century, companies were grouped into regiments. The officers commissioned to lead these regiments were in fact called colonels (column officers). They were first appointed in Spain by King Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
where they were also known as coronellos (crown officers) since they were appointed by the Crown. Thus the English pronunciation of the word colonel.
The first colonels were captains granted command of their regiments by commission of the King. The lieutenants of the colonel were the lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
s. In the 17th century, the sergeant of the colonel was the sergeant major
Sergeant Major
Sergeants major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. In Commonwealth countries, Sergeants Major are usually appointments held by senior non-commissioned officers or warrant officers...
. These were field officers, third in command of their regiments (after their colonels and lieutenant colonels), with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeants major (although obviously on a smaller scale). The older position became known as sergeant major general
Sergeant Major General
Sergeant major general is a now extinct military rank that can trace its origins to the Middle Ages. Originally simply sergeant major, the title—unlike the modern military rank of the same name—signified a general officer, commander of an army's infantry and typically third in command of the army...
to distinguish it. Over time, the sergeant was dropped from both titles since both ranks were used for commissioned officers. This gave rise to the modern ranks of major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and major general.
The full title of sergeant major fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment.
Regiments were later split into battalions with a lieutenant colonel as a commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
and a major as an executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
.
Modern ranks
Modern military services recognize three broad categories of personnel.These are codified in the Geneva Conventions
Geneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
, which distinguish officers, non-commissioned officers, and enlisted men.
Apart from conscripted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
personnel one can distinguish:
Commissioned officers
OfficersOfficer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
are distinguished from other military members (or an officer in training) by holding a commission; they are trained or training as leaders and hold command positions.
Officers are further generally separated into four levels:
- General, flag, or air officers
- Field or senior officers
- Company grade or junior officers
- Subordinate officer (naval cadet or officer cadetOfficer CadetOfficer cadet is a rank held by military and merchant navy cadets during their training to become commissioned officers and merchant navy officers, respectively. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries...
in the Canadian Forces)
General, flag, and air officers
Officers who typically command units or formations that are expected to operate independently for extended periods of time (i.e., brigadeBrigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s and larger, or flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
s or squadrons
Squadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
of ships), are referred to variously as general officers
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
(in armies, marines, and some air forces), flag officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
s (in navies and coast guards), or air officer
Air Officer
An air officer is a Royal Air Force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". The term is also used by many Commonwealth nations who have a similar rank structure to the RAF....
s (in some Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
air forces).
General-officer ranks typically include (from the most senior) general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
, major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, and brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
, although there are many variations like division general or (air-, ground-) force general.
Flag-officer ranks, named after the traditional practice of showing the presence of such an officer with a flag on a ship and often land, typically include (from the most senior) admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
, vice admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
and rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
. In some navies, such as Canada's
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...
, the rank of commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
is a flag rank.
In the United Kingdom
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and most other Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
air forces, air-officer
Air Officer
An air officer is a Royal Air Force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". The term is also used by many Commonwealth nations who have a similar rank structure to the RAF....
ranks usually include air chief marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
, air marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
, air vice-marshal
Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...
and air commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
. For some air forces, however, such as those of Canada
Canadian Forces Air Command
The Royal Canadian Air Force , formerly Canadian Forces Air Command, is one of three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
, United States
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and many other air forces, general officer rank titles are used. Brazil and Argentina use a system of general officer ranks based on the term brigadier.
In some forces there may be one or more superior ranks to the common examples, above, that are given distinguishing titles, such as field marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
or general of the armies (many armies), fleet admiral (U.S. Navy), marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force. In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff, and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff, who were promoted to it on their last day of service. Promotions to the rank have ceased...
, or other national air force. These ranks have often been discontinued, such as in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, or limited to wartime and/or honorific promotion, such as in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In various countries, particularly the United States, these may be referred to as "star ranks" for the number of stars worn on some rank insignia: typically one-star for Brigadier General or equivalent with the addition of a star for each subsequent rank. In the United States, five stars has been the maximum used in all services (excluding the Marines
United States Marine Corps rank insignia
Marine ranks in descending order, with tables indicating abbreviations in the style used by the United States Marine Corps, pay grades, and rank insignia:-Commissioned Officers:...
and Coast Guard, which have only used four). There is also a theoretical six-star rank held by John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
and to which George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
was posthumously promoted, referred to as the General of the Armies of the United States. Additionally, see admiral of the Navy
Admiral of the Navy
Admiral of the navy is a senior-most rank of a naval service.Some navies use the term admiral of the navy as a title bestowed upon a fleet admiral or other senior naval official...
for the US Navy's Six-Star equivalent, awarded to Admiral George Dewey
George Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
and subsequently removed after his death.
Some titles are not genuine ranks, but either functions assumed by generals or honorific titles. For instance, in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
général de corps d'armée
Général de corps d'armée
A Général de corps d'armée is a senior rank in the French Army.The rank is the equivalent of a Lieutenant General in other countries and is junior to the rank of Général d'armée and senior to Général de division...
is a function assumed by some généraux de division
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, and maréchal de France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
, which is a distinction denoting the most superior military office, but one that has often neutered the practical command powers of those on whom it is conferred. In the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, a commodore
Commodore (USN)
Commodore was an early title and later a rank in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and a current honorary title in the U.S. Navy with an intricate history. Because the U.S. Congress was originally unwilling to authorize more than four ranks until 1862, considerable importance...
currently is a senior captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
commanding a squadron
Squadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
that is too small for a rear admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
to command, although that name has historically been used as a rank. The title (not rank) of commodore can also indicate an officer who is senior to a ship's captain (since only the ship's commander is addressed as captain while underway). Marine captains are referred to as major to distinguish themselves while shipboard.
Field or senior officers
Field officerField officer
A field officer is an army, marine, or air force commissioned officer senior in rank to a company officer but junior to a general officer; in some navies, it is an officer who is a Lieutenant Commander, Commander, or Captain....
s, also called "field-grade officers" or "senior officers", are officers who typically command units that can be expected to operate independently for short periods of time (i.e., infantry battalions, cavalry or artillery regiments, warships, air squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
). Field officers also commonly fill staff positions of superior commands.
The term "field(-grade) officer" is primarily used by armies and marines; air forces, navies and coast guards generally prefer the term "senior officer." The two terms are not necessarily synonymous.
Typical army and marine field officer ranks include colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
(icon), lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
, major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and, in the British army, captains holding an adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
's appointment. In many Commonwealth countries the field rank of brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
is used, although it fills the position held by brigadier general in other countries.
Naval and coast guard senior officer ranks include captain and commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
. In some countries, the more senior rank of commodore
Commodore (rank)
Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...
is also included. In others lieutenant-commanders, as equivalents to army and marine majors, are considered senior officers.
Commonwealth air force senior officer ranks include group captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
, wing commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
, and squadron leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
, where such ranks are still used.
Company grade or junior officers
The ranks of junior officers are the three or four lowest ranks of officers. Units under their command are generally not expected to operate independently for any significant length of time. Company grade officers also fill staff roles in some units. In some militaries, however, a captain may act as the permanent commanding officer of an independent company-sized army unit, for example a signal or field engineer squadronSquadron (cavalry)
A squadron was historically a cavalry sub unit. It is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms and services.-United States:...
, or a field artillery battery.
Typical army company officer ranks include captain and various grades of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Typical naval and coast guard junior officer ranks include grades of lieutenant commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
, lieutenant, lieutenant junior grade and ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
. Commonwealth (excluding Canada) air force junior officer ranks usually include flight lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
, flying officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
, and pilot officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
.
"The [U.S.] commissioned officer corps is divided into 10 pay grades (O-1 through O-10). Officers in pay grades O-1 through O-3 are considered company grade officers. In the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, these pay grades correspond to the ranks of second lieutenant (O-1), first lieutenant (O-2), and captain (O-3), and in the Navy, ensign, lieutenant junior grade, and lieutenant. Officers in the next three pay grades (O-4 through O-6) are considered field grade officers. In the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, these pay grades correspond to the ranks of major (O-4), lieutenant colonel (O-5), and colonel (O-6), and in the Navy, lieutenant commander, commander, and captain. The highest four pay grades are reserved for general officers in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and flag officers in the Navy. The ranks associated with each pay grade are as follows: in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, brigadier general (O-7), major general (O-8), lieutenant general (O-9), and general (O-10); in the Navy, rear admiral-lower half, rear admiral-upper half, vice admiral, and admiral."
Subordinate/student officer
Officers in training in the Canadian Armed Forces are either naval cadet for Naval Training or officer cadetOfficer Cadet
Officer cadet is a rank held by military and merchant navy cadets during their training to become commissioned officers and merchant navy officers, respectively. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries...
for Army or Air Force Training.
In the US and several other western forces, officers in training are referred to as student officers, and carry the rank of cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
(Army and Air Force) or midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
(Navy, and in some countries, Marines). These officers may be serving at a military academy
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
, or, as common in the United States, as members of a military training unit attached to a civilian college or university, such as an ROTC unit. This is due to a requirement that commissioned officers have at least a four-year degree. The British Army refers to its trainee officers as officer cadets (OCdt), who hold no authority over other ranks (except when appointed to carry out a role as part of training). OCdts are referred to as Mister/Miss until the completion of the early stages of their training, thereafter non-officers will refer to him/her as Sir/Ma'am.
While Cadet has always been a rank of limited authority and prestige (cadets and US Navy midshipmen have no authority over commissioned personnel, warrants, or officers, only subordinate cadets), midshipman has historically been a rank with limited leadership responsibility, particularly in the Royal Navy. This tradition was continued by the US Navy after its original adoption of the rank, but now US Navy midshipmen are limited in the same manner as cadets in the other US services. Additionally, US Marine officers in training are also midshipmen, trained and educated alongside their naval counterparts, and wear distinctive insignia to indicate their branch of service.
Note: US Coast Guard Academy students are referred to as cadets, while those attending the military branch's Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School or Officer Cadet School are institutions which train civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country....
(OCS) are officer candidates.
In the US an alternative to spending four years as a cadet or midshipmen is for college graduates with a four-year degree to attend Officer Candidate School, an intensive twelve week training course designed to convert college graduates into military officers. Each service has at least one, and usually several, OCS facilities. Students at these programs are called officer candidate
Officer Candidate
Officer Candidate is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an officer. More often than not, an Officer Candidate was a civilian who applied to join the military directly as an officer...
s.
Warrant officers
Warrant officerWarrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
s (as receiving authority by virtue of a warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
) are a hybrid rank treated slightly differently in each country and/or service. WOs may either be effectively senior non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s or an entirely separate grade between commissioned and non-commissioned officers, usually held by specialist personnel.
In the United States, warrant officers are appointed by warrant then commissioned by the President of the United States at the rank of chief warrant officer.
Enlisted personnel
Enlisted personnel are personnel below commissioned rank and make up the vast majority of military personnel. They are known by different names in different countries, such as other ranksOther Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
(ORs) in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, and non-commissioned members (NCMs) in Canada.
Non-commissioned officers
Non-commissioned officerNon-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s (NCOs) are enlisted personnel, under the command of an officer, granted delegated authority to supervise other military members or assigned significant administrative responsibilities. In U.S. Army parlance: "NCOs are the backbone of the Army!"http://www.army.mil/leaders/SMA/creed.htm They are responsible for the care and direct control of junior military members, often functioning in the smaller field units as executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
s.
Even the most senior NCO officially ranks beneath the most junior commissioned officer or warrant officer. However, most senior NCOs have more experience, possibly including combat, than junior officers. In many armies, because junior officers have a great amount of responsibility and authority but little operational experience, they are paired with senior NCO advisers. In some organizations, senior NCOs may have formal responsibility and informal respect beyond that of junior officers, but less than that of warrant officers. Many warrant officers come from the ranks of mid-career NCOs. In some countries warrant ranks replace senior enlisted ranks.
NCO ranks typically include a varying number of grades of sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
and corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
(Air Force, Army and Marines), or chief petty officer
Chief Petty Officer
A chief petty officer is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.-Canada:"Chief Petty Officer" refers to two ranks in the Canadian Navy...
and petty officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
(Navy and Coast Guard). In many navies the term rate is used to designate specialty, while rank denotes paygrade.
Warrant officers do not come under the non-commissioned officer branch. They are commissioned with a warrant.
Other enlisted ranks
Personnel with no command authority usually bear titles such as privatePrivate (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
, airman
Airman
An airman is a member of the air component of a nation's armed service. In the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force , it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank...
/aircraftman
Aircraftman
Aircraftman , or Aircraftwoman , is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries....
, or seaman
Seaman
Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....
(starting with seaman recruit
Seaman Recruit
Seaman recruit is the lowest enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just below seaman apprentice; this rank was formerly known as seaman third class...
in the United States Navy and Coast Guard). In the United States Marine Corps individuals of all ranks regardless of command status may be referred to as "marine". In some countries and services, personnel in different branches have different titles. These may have a variety of grades, such as private first class
Private First Class
Private First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
, but these usually only reflect variations in pay, not increased authority. These may or may not technically be ranks, depending on the country and/or service. Each rank gives the individual an indication of how long and how well they have served in combat and training.
Appointment
Appointment refers to the instrument by virtue of which the person exercises his or her authority. Officers are appointed by a Royal CommissionLetters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
in most monarchies or a Presidential Commission in many other countries. In the Commonwealth, warrant officers hold a Royal or Presidential Warrant. In the United States, officers are appointed by the president, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. Most officers are approved en bloc by voice vote
Voice vote
A voice vote is a voting method used by deliberative assemblies in which a vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding verbally....
, but flag officers are usually required to appear before the Armed Services Committee
United States Senate Committee on Armed Services
The Committee on Armed Services is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy , benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System and...
and answer questions to the satisfaction of its members, prior to a vote on their commission.
NCOs are appointed by an instrument of appointment, a written document, often a certificate, usually from the service head. Entry into service is often referred to as enlistment throughout the English speaking world, even in countries where soldiers do not technically enlist.
Sometimes personnel serve in an appointment which is higher than their actual rank. For instance, commodore used to be an appointment of captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and lance corporal
Lance Corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...
used to be an appointment of private in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Types of rank
There are a number of different forms of rank:- Substantive or permanent rank is the fully paid and confirmed rank.
- Acting rankActing (rank)An Acting rank, is a military designation allowing an commissioned- or non-commissioned officer to assume a rank—usually higher and usually temporary—with the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade. As such, an officer may be ordered back to the previous grade...
is where the holder assumes the pay and allowances appropriate to the acting rank, but a higher commanding officer may revert the holder to previous rank held. This is normally for a short period of time while the permanent occupant of the office is absent. - Temporary rank usually granted for a specific task or mission. The holder holds the rank while occupying that position. Despite the name, temporary rank may be held for a considerable period of time, perhaps even years. In wartime, temporary ranks are often common.
- Local rank is a form of temporary rank restricted to a specific location instead of a specific duty.
- Brevet rank is a temporary rank, often honorary, without the pay and allowances appropriate to the rank. It was sometimes used by penurious governments to reduce costs.
Rank and unit size
To get a sense of the practical meaning of these ranks—and thus to be able to compare them across the different armed services, different nations, and the variations of titles and insignia—an understanding of the relative levels and sizes of each command will be helpful. The ranking and command system used by U.S. MarineUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
ground forces or U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
units can serve as a template for this purpose. It should be remembered that different countries will often use their own systems that don't match the presentation here.
Under this system, starting from the bottom and working up, a corporal leads a fireteam
Fireteam
A fireteam is a small military unit of infantry. It is the smallest unit in the militaries that use it and is the primary unit upon which infantry organization is based in the British Army, Royal Air Force Regiment, Royal Marines, United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Air...
consisting of three other individuals. A sergeant leads a squad
Squad
In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...
consisting of three fireteams. As a result, a full squad numbers 13 individuals. Squads usually have numbered designations (e.g., 1st Squad).
Generally, in most armies and marine units, a lieutenant or equivalent rank commands a platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
, which can consist of three or four squads. For example, in U.S. Marine infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
units, rifle platoons usually consist of three rifle squads of 13 men each, with a Navy corpsman, the platoon commander, and a platoon sergeant (i.e., a staff sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
who serves as second-in-command). An infantry platoon can number from 42 to 55 individuals, depending on the service. Platoons are usually numbered (e.g., 1st Platoon) or named after their primary function (e.g., Service Platoon).
A captain or equivalent rank commands a company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
, usually consisting of four platoons (three line platoons and one heavy weapons platoon). His headquarters can include a first sergeant
First Sergeant
First sergeant is the name of a military rank used in many countries, typically a senior non-commissioned officer.-Singapore:First Sergeant is a Specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First Sergeants are the most senior of the junior Specialists, ranking above Second Sergeants, and below Staff...
and as many as seven others. As such, a company can comprise from roughly 175 to 225 individuals. Equivalent units also commanded by captains are batteries (for field artillery units) and detachments. In English speaking countries, a company (or troop in the cavalry or armor, and battery in the artillery) is usually designated by a letter (e.g., A Company). In non-English speaking countries, they are usually numbered. In most Commonwealth armies a company is commanded by a major, assisted by a captain.
A lieutenant colonel or equivalent rank commands a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
or a squadron
Squadron (cavalry)
A squadron was historically a cavalry sub unit. It is still used to refer to modern cavalry units but can also be used as a designation for other arms and services.-United States:...
, often consisting of four companies, plus the various members of his headquarters. A battalion is around 500–1,500 men and usually consists of between two and six companies.
A colonel or equivalent commands a regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
or group
Group (air force)
A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...
, often consisting of four battalions (for an Infantry unit) or five to six air groups (for a wing). Battalions and regiments are usually numbered, either as a separate battalion or as part of a regimental structure (e.g., 1-501st Infantry in the US Army).
In these latter, abstractions cease to be helpful and it becomes necessary to turn to an actual unit. The 1st Battalion
1st Battalion 1st Marines
1st Battalion 1st Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Pendleton, California consisting of anywhere from 800 to 2,000 Marines and Sailors, but the number fluctuates depending on the Battalion's mission...
of the 1st Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division of the I Marine Expeditionary Force consists of three infantry companies, one weapons company, and one headquarters and service company. Above that, the 1st Marine Regiment (aka First Marines) consists of four such battalions and one headquarters company. Marine Air Control Group 18
Marine Air Control Group 18
Marine Air Control Group 18 is a United States Marine Corps aviation command and control unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma that is currently composed of 4 squadrons, 1 battery and 1 administrative detachment that provide the 1st Marine Aircraft Wings tactical headquarters and...
of 1st Marine Air Wing of the III Marine Expeditionary Force
III Marine Expeditionary Force
The III Marine Expeditionary Force is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of the United States Marine Corps that is forward-deployed and able to deploy rapidly and conduct operations across the spectrum from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to amphibious assault and high intensity combat. III...
consists of four squadrons, one battery, and one detachment, a mix of different-sized units under a regimental equivalent-sized unit.
The next level has traditionally been a brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
, commanded by a brigadier general, and containing two or more regiments. But this structure is considered obsolete today. At the present time, in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, a brigade is roughly equal to or a little larger than a regiment, consisting of three to seven battalions. Strength typically ranges from 1,500 to 3,500 personnel. In the U.S. Marines, brigades are only formed for certain missions. In size and nature they are larger and more varied collections of battalions than is common for a regiment, fitting them for their traditional role as the smallest formation able to operate independently on a battlefield without external logistical tactical support. Brigades are usually numbered (e.g., 2nd Brigade).
The level above regiment and brigade is the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, commanded by a major general and consisting of from 10,000 to 20,000 persons. The 1st Marine Division, for example, is made up of four marine regiments (of the type described above), one assault amphibian battalion, one reconnaissance battalion, two light armored reconnaissance battalions, one combat engineer battalion, one tank battalion, and one headquarters battalion—totalling more than 19,000 marines. (Within the headquarters battalion are one headquarters company, one service company, one military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
company, one communications company, and one truck company.) An equivalent elsewhere within the same marine expeditionary force (MEF) might be a MEF logistics group (MLG) - which is not a regimental-sized unit (as the word "group" implies), but rather a large support unit consisting of several battalions of support personnel. Divisions are normally numbered, but can be named after a function or personage.
Considering such a variety of units, the command sizes for any given rank will vary widely. Not all units are as troop intensive as infantry forces need to be. Tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
crews, for example, involve far fewer personnel. Numbers also differ for non-combat units such as quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
s, cooks, and hospital staff. Beyond this, in any real situation, not all units will be at full strength and there will be various attachments and detachments of assorted specialists woven throughout the system.
The 1st Marine Division is part of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, which also includes the 3rd Marine Air Wing, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade (as required), three marine expeditionary units (featuring helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
groups), and a battalion-sized marine air ground task force. In the U.S. Marine Corps there are three marine expeditionary forces.
In the U.S. Army, the level above division is called a corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
instead of an expeditionary force. It is commanded by a lieutenant general. In many armies, a corps numbers around 60,000, usually divided into three divisions. Corps (and similar organizations) are normally designated with roman numerals and their nationality when operating in a combined (international) force, e.g. V (US) Corps, VIII (ROK) Corps, II MEF, I Canadian Corps.
During World War II, due to the large scale of combat, multiple corps were combined into armies
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
commanded in theory by a general (four stars), but often by a lieutenant general (three stars), and comprising as many as 240,000 troops. Armies are numbered by spelled-out numerals or functional titles, using their nationality in "combined" forces (e.g., Eighth US Army, Third ROK Army, British Army of the Rhine). These were in their turn formed into army group
Army group
An army group is a military organization consisting of several field armies, which is self-sufficient for indefinite periods. It is usually responsible for a particular geographic area...
s, these being the largest field organization handled by a single commander in modern warfare. Army groups included between 400,000 and 1,500,000 troops. Army groups received Arabic numeral designations and national designations when combined.
These examples illustrate a standard that holds true all over the world and throughout military history, namely that higher rank generally implies command of larger units in a nested system of ranks and commands. The specific size of a command for any given rank will, however, depend on the task the unit performs, the nature of weapons used, and the strategies of warfare.
Military ranks and insignia of various nations
See Comparative military ranksComparative military ranks
This article is a list of various states' armed forces ranking designations. Comparisons are made between the different systems used by nations to categorize the hierarchy of an armed force compared to another. Several of these lists mention NATO reference codes. These are the NATO rank reference...
for detailed rank listing
- BangladeshRanks of Bangladesh ArmyThe is the land forces branch of the Military of Bangladesh. The rank structure of the People' Republic of Bangladesh is modeled along the armies of the Commonwealth Nations.-Commissioned Officers:* Field Marshal* General...
- BelgiumBelgian military ranksThe following are the ranks and insignia of the Belgian Armed Forces.The ranks are given in English, Dutch and French .-Officers:Note*The highest rank in the Military Police is Colonel....
- PakistanArmy Ranks of Pakistan-Officer ranks:-Junior Commissioned Officers:-Non-Commissioned Officers:-See also:*Pakistan Army*List of serving generals of the Pakistan Army*Pakistani Armed Forces-Notes:...
- CroatiaCroatian military ranks-Army and air force ranks:Labels ranks for members of the Croatian Ground Army and Croatian Air Force and Defense are identical, except that the ranks of the Ground Army are gold and of the Air Force and Defense are silver.-Navy ranks:...
- FinlandFinnish military ranksFinnish military ranks form a system that incorporates features from Swedish, German, and Russian armed forces. In addition, the system has some typically Finnish characteristics that are mostly due to the personnel structure of the Finnish Defence Forces. The ranks have official names in Finnish...
- French ArmyRanks in the French ArmySee Ranks in the French Navy for more details about the Navy Ranks.The ranks in the Armée de Terre :Rank insignia in the French army depend on whether the soldier belongs to an "infantry" or "cavalry" unit...
- France NavyRanks in the French NavyThe rank insignia of the French Navy are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels....
- BrazilMilitary ranks of BrazilThis article presents the insignia and ranks of the Brazilian military. These ranks originate from those adopted upon Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822. Nowadays they are defined by Act no. 6880 of December 9, 1980...
- IndiaArmy ranks and insignia of IndiaThe following tables present the ranks of the Indian army. These ranks generally correspond with those of Western militaries, and in particular reflect those of the British and Commonwealth Armies. Traditional names for ranks are still used, as well as western names....
- IndiaNaval ranks and insignia of IndiaThe following graphs presents the officer ranks of the Indian navy. These ranks generally correspond with those of Western militaries, and reflect those of the British military ranks.- Officer ranks :AdmiralVice admiralCommodoreCommanderLieutanent Commander...
- IndiaAir Force ranks and insignia of IndiaThe IAF's rank structure is based on that of the Royal Air Force. The highest rank attainable in the IAF is Marshal of the Indian Air Force, conferred by the President of India after exceptional service during wartime. MIAF Arjan Singh is the only officer to have achieved this rank. The head of the...
- Iran
- Sweden
- Sweden (detailed)
- ThailandMilitary ranks of the Thai armed forces-Royal Thai Army:The Royal Thai Army is the land based part of the Thai military.-Officers:-Other Ranks:Private 1st Class is a rank assigned to conscripts after they have finished specialist training...
- Turkey
- UkraineMilitary ranks of UkraineThe military ranks of Ukraine were created in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.Ukrainian armed forces have two styles of ranks - Army, which is used by Ground forces and the Air Force, and Navy. Ukraine like the Russian Federation eliminated the descriptor "of Aviation" following...
- UK Army OfficerBritish Army officer rank insignia-Origins:The first British Army rank insignia were introduced in 1760. According to the Royal Clothing Warrant, General Officers were distinguished by the pattern and arrangement of laces on the cuff.Badges for field officers were first introduced in 1810...
- UK Army other ranks
- UK RAF officerRAF officer ranks- Ranks :-Origins:Lieutenant-General David Henderson originally proposed that Royal Air Force officers use a combination of British Army and Royal Navy ranks...
- UK RAF enlistedRAF enlisted ranksThe term used in the Royal Air Force to refer to all ranks below commissioned officer level is Other Ranks . It includes Warrant Officers, non-commissioned officers , and airmen.-Ranks:-Origins:...
- UK and US military ranks compared
- US Army officerUnited States Army officer rank insigniaUnited States Army officer rank insignia in use today.-History:The structure of U.S. ranks has its roots in British military traditions. At the start of the American Revolutionary War, uniforms, let alone insignia, were barely affordable and recognition of ranks in the field was problematic...
- US Army enlistedUnited States Army enlisted rank insigniaThe chart below represents the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Army.This chart represents the U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia with seniority increasing left-to-right inside a given pay grade...
- US Junior ROTCJunior Reserve Officers' Training Corps ranksMembers of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps are assigned various ranks.-Officer ranks:** Cadet Captain is the rank that the leader of a NJROTC unit will obtain if they are approved as Regiment*** Cadets do not receive pay....
External links
- United States Military Rank Insignia, Background, & Description
- Glossary of Ancient Greek Military Terms
- Military ranks of the world
- PDF rank and insignia chart of the modern Norwegian army, navy, and air force.
- Military rank
- US Military ranks and rank insignia