1.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
2.
Royal Marines
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The Corps of Royal Marines is the United Kingdoms amphibious light infantry force, forming part of the Naval Service, along with the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as the Royal Navys infantry troops, as a highly specialised and adaptable light infantry force, the Royal Marines are trained for rapid deployment worldwide and capable of dealing with a wide range of threats. The Royal Marines have close ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps. Today, the Royal Marines are a fighting force within the British Armed forces. The Royal Marines can trace its origins back as far as 28 October 1664 when at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company the Duke of York and Albanys maritime regiment of foot was first formed. On 5 April 1755, His Majestys Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary and this meant that the furthest a Marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to colonel and this attitude persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world and they also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. In 1788 a detachment of four companies of marines, under Major Robert Ross, due to an error the Fleet left Portsmouth without its main supply of ammunition, and were not resupplied until the Fleet docked in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral the Earl St. Vincent, the Royal Marines Artillery was formed as a separate unit in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb ketches. These had been manned by the Armys Royal Regiment of Artillery, during the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navys ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. In the Caribbean theatre volunteers from freed French slaves on Marie-Galante were used to form Sir Alexander Cochranes first Corps of Colonial Marines and these men bolstered the ranks, helping the British to hold the island until reinforcements arrived. This practice was repeated during the War of 1812, where escaped American slaves were formed into Cochranes second Corps of Colonial Marines and these men were commanded by Royal Marines officers and fought alongside their regular Royal Marines counterparts at the Battle of Bladensburg. Throughout the war Royal Marines units raided up and down the east coast of America including up the Penobscot River and they fought in the Battle of New Orleans and later helped capture Fort Bowyer in Mobile Bay in what was the last action of the war. In 1855 the Infantry forces were renamed the Royal Marines Light Infantry, during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855, three Royal Marines earned the Victoria Cross, two in the Crimea and one in the Baltic. In 1862 the name was altered to Royal Marine Light Infantry. The Royal Navy did not fight any other ships after 1850, in these Naval Brigades, the function of the Royal Marines was to land first and act as skimishers ahead of the sailor Infantry and Artillery
3.
Three-star rank
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An officer of three-star rank is a very senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the rank of admiral, lieutenant general, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure. The RAN does incorporate stars into the rank insignia for flag-rank officers. Unofficial star rank insignia are worn when serving with or visiting other military organisations in order to facilitate equivalent rank recognition. Lieutenant general Vice admiral Air marshal General de Divisão Vice Almirante Major Brigadeiro The three-star rank in Brazil is the rank in a general career. The officers in this position are normally divisional commanders, Vice admiral/vice-amiral Lieutenant-general/lieutenant-général Three maple leaves appear with St. Edwards crown and crossed sabre and baton. Prince Charles holds the rank of vice-admiral in an honorary capacity, before unification, the rank of air marshal was the three-star equivalent for the RCAF. An Army or Marine Corps lieutenant general commands a corps-sized unit. Additionally, lieutenant generals and vice admirals of all services serve as staff officers at various major command headquarters. In the Russian and Soviet armies, the rank is colonel-general. This is a title that emerged during the early Soviet period, most Warsaw Pact and Soviet-aligned countries adopted this rank. The rank is held by commanders of the ground forces, chiefs of military academies. Colonel general is considered a stone to the rank of general of the army. This title also applies to three officers of the air force, MVD, police and militia, internal troops, FSB/KGB, border guards. In the navy, the three star rank is admiral, Corps general Ranks and insignia of NATO Four-star rank Two-star rank
4.
NATO
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
5.
Vice admiral (Royal Navy)
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Please see “vice admiral” for other nations which use this rank. Vice admiral is an officer rank of the British Royal Navy. It equates to the NATO rank code OF-8 and is superior to rear admiral and is subordinate to the full admiral rank. The Royal Navy has had vice admirals since at least the 16th century, when the fleet was deployed the vice admiral would be in the leading portion or van acting as the deputy to the admiral. Vice admirals are entitled to fly a personal flag, a vice admiral flies a St George’s cross defaced with a red disc in the hoist. The rank of admiral itself is shown in its sleeve lace by a broad band with two narrower bands. Since 2001 it has designated a three-star rank when the number of stars on the shoulder board were increased to three
6.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
7.
Air marshal
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Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. Air marshal is a rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-8. In other NATO forces, such as the United States Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, the rank of air marshal is immediately senior to the rank of air vice-marshal and immediately subordinate to the rank of air chief marshal. Officers in the rank of air marshal typically hold senior appointments such as commander-in-chief of an air force or a large air force formation. Officers in the ranks of air marshal and air vice-marshal are also referred to generically as air marshals. Occasionally, air force officers of rank are considered to be air marshals. Prior to the adoption of RAF-specific rank titles in 1919, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navys officer ranks, for example, the rank that later became air marshal would have been air vice-admiral. However, air marshal was preferred and was adopted on 1 August 1919, the rank of air marshal was first used on 11 August 1919 when Sir Hugh Trenchard was promoted to the rank and it has been used ever since. The rank insignia consists of two light blue bands over a light blue band on a broad black band. This is worn on the sleeves of the dress uniform or on shoulders of the flying suit or working uniform. The command flag for an air marshal is defined by the broad red band running in the centre of the flag. The vehicle star plate for an air marshal depicts three white stars on an air force blue background and it is also used in the Nigerian Air Force, Ghana Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Air Force of Zimbabwe and the Royal Thai Air Force. The Brazilian Air Force does not use air marshal ranks as an equivalent to general ranks, however, its highest rank is marechal-do-ar, the equivalent to a Brazilian Army marshal. Marechal-do-ar can be translated as air marshal or marshal of the air, similarly, the Royal Malaysian Air Forces five-star rank of marshal udara translates as air marshal. The Australian Air Corps adopted the RAF rank system on 9 November 1920 and this usage was continued by its successor, however, the rank of air marshal was not used by the Australian Armed Forces until 1940 when Richard Williams, an RAAF officer, was promoted. In New Zealand, the head of the air force holds the rank of air vice-marshal. However, when an air force holds the countrys senior military appointment, Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force. The last air force Chief of the Defence Force was Air Marshal Sir Bruce Ferguson who served in that appointment from 2001 to 2006, in official French Canadian usage, the rank title was maréchal de lair
8.
Royal Air Force
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The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdoms aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. The RAF describe its mission statement as, an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission. The mission statement is supported by the RAFs definition of air power, Air power is defined as the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events. Today the Royal Air Force maintains a fleet of various types of aircraft. The majority of the RAFs rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces, most of the RAFs aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on operations or at long-established overseas bases. It was founded on 1 April 1918, with headquarters located in the former Hotel Cecil, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps, at that time it was the largest air force in the world. The RAFs naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm, was founded in 1924, the RAF developed the doctrine of strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed Article XV squadrons for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from countries, and exiles from occupied Europe. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe, the largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, during the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the Royal Air Force was in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E and these were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the Royal Navys Polaris submarines, the nuclear deterrent passed to the navys submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAFs strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one and this tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period
9.
Commonwealth of Nations
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The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the states as free. The symbol of free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is also the monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, the other Commonwealth members have different heads of state,31 members are republics and five are monarchies with a different monarch. Member states have no obligation to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their values of democracy, free speech, human rights. These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, the Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2, 20% of the worlds land area, and spans all six inhabited continents. She declared, So, it marks the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. As long ago as 1884, however, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, had described the changing British Empire—as some of its colonies became more independent—as a Commonwealth of Nations. Conferences of British and colonial prime ministers occurred periodically from the first one in 1887, the Commonwealth developed from the imperial conferences. Newfoundland never did, as on 16 February 1934, with the consent of its parliament, Newfoundland later joined Canada as its 10th province in 1949. Australia and New Zealand ratified the Statute in 1942 and 1947 respectively, after World War II ended, the British Empire was gradually dismantled. Most of its components have become independent countries, whether Commonwealth realms or republics, there remain the 14 British overseas territories still held by the United Kingdom. In April 1949, following the London Declaration, the word British was dropped from the title of the Commonwealth to reflect its changing nature, burma and Aden are the only states that were British colonies at the time of the war not to have joined the Commonwealth upon independence. Hoped for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four minute mile in 1954, however, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt morale of Britain and the Commonwealth as a whole. More broadly, there was the loss of a role of the British Empire. That role was no longer militarily or financially feasible, as Britains withdrawal from Greece in 1947 painfully demonstrated, Britain itself was now just one part of the NATO military alliance in which the Commonwealth had no role apart from Canada
10.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
11.
St Edward's Crown
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St Edwards Crown is one of the oldest Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and the centrepiece of the coronation regalia. Named after Edward the Confessor, it has traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronation ceremonies. The current version was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661, Edward the Confessor wore the first crown of this name at Easter, Whitsun and Christmas. It may have incorporated elements of a crown that belonged to Alfred the Great, in 1066, St Edwards Crown was reputedly used at the coronation of William the Conqueror. It was subsequently used for the coronations of William II, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I, at the first coronation of Henry III in 1216, a chaplet was used instead of the crown. From this it was inferred by the German historian, Reinhold Pauli, however, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley maintained that the original crown and regalia were kept in the Treasury until the time of Henry VIII, and survived until 1642. It was supposedly used in 1533 to crown the wife of Henry VIII. During the English Civil War in 1642, Parliament sold the medieval St Edwards Crown, the British monarchy was eventually restored in 1661, and in preparation for the coronation of Charles II, a new St Edwards Crown was made by Sir Robert Vyner. It is 30 cm tall and weighs 2.23 kg and its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. In 1671, Colonel Thomas Blood briefly stole the crown from the Tower of London, a new monde was created for the coronation of James II, and for William III the base was changed from a circle to an oval. St Edwards Crown was placed on the coffin of Edward VII for his lying in state, imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with golden beads. It was also smaller to fit George V, the first monarch to be crowned with St Edwards Crown in over 200 years. When not used to crown the monarch, St Edwards Crown was placed on the altar during the coronation, however, it did not feature at all at the coronation of Queen Victoria. Before 1649, it was usual for a monarch to be crowned with the original St Edwards Crown, images based on the crown are used in coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia throughout the Commonwealth realms to symbolise the monarchs royal authority. In these contexts, it replaced the Tudor Crown in 1953 by order of Queen Elizabeth II, use of the crowns image in this way is by permission of the monarch. Coronation crown Canadian royal symbols St Edwards Crown at the Royal Collection, the Crown Jewels at the Royal Family website
12.
Tudor Crown (heraldry)
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The Tudor Crown, also known as the Kings Crown or Imperial Crown, is a widely used symbol in heraldry of the United Kingdom. Officially it was used from 1902 to 1953 representing not only the British monarch personally, as such, it appeared on numerous official emblems in the United Kingdom, British Empire and Commonwealth. While various crown symbols had used for this purpose for many years previously. It was never intended to represent any actual physical crown, although in shape it bears a resemblance to the small diamond crown of Queen Victoria. Upon the accession of Elizabeth II, she requested the design to be replaced with a representation of the St Edwards Crown which she wore at her coronation, many, though not all, of the derived designs around the world were updated to match. In Canada, the Tudor Crown has been used since 1907 in the Canadian Government Inspection Legend on inspected meat products, royal cypher Gallery of British crowns and coronets http, //flagspot. net/flags/gb-crown. html
13.
John Cooper (British Army officer)
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Lieutenant General John Cooper, CB, DSO, MBE is a former senior British Army officer. From March 2008 he was the Deputy Commander of Multinational Force-Iraq, the headquarters in Iraq. As Deputy Commander, he was the assistant to General Raymond T. Odierno of the United States Army. He stepped down on 4 March 2009, and retired from the later that year. Cooper was born on 17 February 1955 in Berwick-upon-Tweed, educated at Berwick Grammar School, he then went to Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the Kings Own Scottish Borderers as a second lieutenant on 8 March 1975. He initially served in Northern Ireland, Britain and Germany, he was promoted lieutenant on 8 March 1977, in the early 1980s he served two tours with a British Army advisory and training team in Zimbabwe before attending Staff College, Camberley in 1987. He then commanded a company in 1st Battalion, KOSB. He then served as an instructor at the Staff College, Camberley and he attended the Higher Command and Staff Course in 1998, and was promoted colonel on 30 June 1998. He was officially promoted to brigadier on 31 December 1999, with seniority from 30 June 1999, the brigade deployed to Bosnia in 2000. He was appointed the Chief of the Defence Staffs liaison officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon in Washington DC in 2002 and he then assumed the appointment of Chief of Staff, Field Army, HQ Land Command. Upon promotion to general on 7 May 2004, Cooper became Deputy Commander Combined Forces Command until December 2004. He was awarded the US Bronze Star Medal for his service in Afghanistan, when he departed Afghanistan, he took command of 1st Armoured Division on 25 January 2005, taking elements of that division to Iraq where it formed HQ Multi-National Division. He stepped down from the post on 4 March 2009, in an interview on 3 March 2009 he expressed his belief that the struggle against Al Qaida in Iraq had been won, and that the country was getting back on its feet. Cooper was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2009 Birthday Honours and he retired from the army on 21 November 2009
14.
Corps
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A corps is a military unit usually consisting of several divisions. Some military service branches are also called corps, such as the Military Police Corps, Royal Logistic Corps, Quartermaster Corps, a few civilian organizations use the name corps to imply a similar service level, such as the Peace Corps. In many armies, a corps is a formation composed of two or more divisions, and typically commanded by a lieutenant general. During World War I and World War II, due to the scale of combat. In Western armies with numbered corps, the number is indicated in Roman numerals. II Corps was also formed, with Militia units, to defend south-eastern Australia, sub-corps formations controlled Allied land forces in the remainder of Australia. I Corps headquarters was assigned control of the New Guinea campaign. In early 1945, when I Corps was assigned the task of re-taking Borneo, the Canadian Corps consisted of four Canadian divisions. After the Armistice, the peacetime Canadian militia was organized into corps and divisions. Early in the Second World War, Canadas contribution to the British-French forces fighting the Germans was limited to a single division, after the fall of France in June 1940, a second division moved to England, coming under command of a Canadian corps headquarters. This corps was renamed I Canadian Corps as a corps headquarters was established in the UK. I Canadian Corps eventually fought in Italy, II Canadian Corps in NW Europe, after the formations were disbanded after VE Day, Canada has never subsequently organized a Corps headquarters. The Chinese Republic had 133 Corps during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Corps became the basic tactical unit of the NRA having strength nearly equivalent to an allied Division. The French Army under Napoleon used corps-sized formations as the first formal combined-arms groupings of divisions with reasonably stable manning, Napoleon first used the Corps dArmée in 1805. The use of the Corps dArmée was an innovation that provided Napoleon with a significant battlefield advantage in the early phases of the Napoleonic Wars. The Corps was designed to be an independent military group containing cavalry, artillery and infantry and this allowed Napoleon to mass the bulk of his forces to effect a penetration into a weak section of enemy lines without risking his own communications or flank. This innovation stimulated other European powers to adopt similar military structures, the Corps has remained an echelon of French Army organization to the modern day. As fixed military formation already in peace-time it was used almost in all European armies after Battle of Ulm in 1805, in Prussia it was introduced by Order of His Majesty from November 5,1816, in order to strengthen the readiness to war
15.
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
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The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation High Readiness Force Headquarters ready for deployment worldwide within five to thirty days. The ARRC was created on 2 October 1992 in Bielefeld based on the former British I Corps, the first commander, appointed in 1992 was General Sir Jeremy Mackenzie. From 1994 the ARRC was based in the Rheindahlen Military Complex, since 2002 however the HQ has been re-roled as a High Readiness Force HQ with a broader mission. The formation HQ is under Operational Command of Supreme Allied Commander, the ARRC has a national Force Pool of Combat, Combat Support and Combat Service Support units with which to train and execute its mission. However, in reality COMARRC commands no forces until he receives an Activation Order from SACEUR, although the corps is commanded by a British Army lieutenant-general, the corps is no longer a purely British formation. The UK is the nation and provides about 80% of the funding. The remaining 40% of the staff are made up of a further 14 Partner Nations, the deployable headquarters infrastructure and communications for HQ ARRC is provided by the 1st Signal Brigade under the Army 2020 concept
16.
Defence Equipment and Support
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Defence Equipment and Support is a trading entity and organisation within the UK Ministry of Defence. The organisation had a civilian and military workforce of around 29,000, in the UK, DE&S operates as a single Top Level Budget. As of 2008 the DE&S workforce was around 24,500, of this, around 8,000 posts have been housed at Abbey Wood since 2012. Defence Equipment and Support was established on 2 April 2007, DE&S is overseen by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology. The organisation is under the leadership of the Chief of Defence Materiel, a four-star officer, after the restructuring in 2011 there are four three-star posts under the Chief of Defence Materiel. The Chief Operating Officer was responsible for project and programme delivery across DE&S and this includes supporting the equipment through life, and the performance of the industrial supply chain. The post was discontinued 1 June 2011, the Chiefs of Materiel are responsible for managing key relationships with the Capability Sponsor and User. They work at the level to make sure that the operational readiness. The CofMs ensure an ethos of support to operations is in place to the User, the Chief of Corporate Performance was responsible for managing the business effectively and setting policy in key corporate functional areas. The post was discontinued as at 1 June 2011, DE&S manages a variety of defence procurement and support projects inherited from the DLO and DPA for all three services. Examples of current and future procurement projects include, Type 45 destroyer class, General Purpose Frigate class Tide-class tanker Solid Support Ship Vanguard submarine class. Dreadnought-class submarine Replacement class for the Vanguard-Class Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft, f-35 Joint Strike Fighter fighter aircraft. Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft /Airbus A330 MRTT aerial refueling tanker, Merlin HC3 support and Merlin HM1 anti-submarine warfare helicopters. Airseeker Protector UAV Mastiff Cougar Protected Patrol Vehicle, ajax Panther Command and Liaison Vehicle. Mechanised Infantry Vehicle Multi Role Vehicle-Protected AIM-132 ASRAAM, main Battle Tank and Light Armour Weapon anti-tank missile. SPEAR, Selective Precision Effects At Range munitions, see for example, skynet 5 strategic communications satellite system
17.
Commandant General Royal Marines
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The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943, the Commandant General Royal Marines is responsible for advising the First Sea Lord, with professional responsibility for all Royal Marine units. He is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, whose rank is brigadier and this position is not to be confused with Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the counterpart to the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, the appointment has been held concurrently with that of Commander United Kingdom Amphibious Forces since the creation of the Fleet Battle Staff in 2001. COMUKAMPHIBFOR is one of two deployable two-star maritime operational commanders (the other being Commander UK Maritime Force, with responsibility for amphibious. Unlike COMUKMARFOR, COMUKAMPHIBFOR is primarily configured to command as a joint task force
18.
Robert Fry
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Lieutenant General Sir Robert Alan Fry, KCB, CBE served as a Royal Marine for over 30 years and was involved in military operations in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. After retirement from service he went into private business and, in 2007, became CEO of Hewlett Packards defence and security business in Europe. In 2010 he was appointed chairman of McKinney Rogers International and subsequently, in 2011, after taking a degree in economics at the University of Bath and working for a period in commerce in New York City, Fry joined the Royal Marines in 1973. His early career was spent at regimental and special duties, in 1989, Fry was appointed Chief of staff, HQ3 Commando Brigade, and subsequently took part in Operation Haven in Northern Iraq. This was followed by a return to the Ministry of Defence before taking command of 45 Commando in 1995. In 1997, in the rank of brigadier, he became the Director Naval Staff in the Ministry of Defence, after which he took command of 3 Commando Brigade in 1999. He assumed the post of Chief of Staff at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood in May 2002 and remained in the job throughout the planning for and conduct of operations against Iraq. He took over the job of Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff in July 2003, in 2004, the Chiefs of Staff Committee directed Fry to develop a plan to support NATO and switch British forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, where they had been involved since 2001. He was deployed as Senior British Military Representative and Deputy Commanding General, Multinational Force, Iraq in March 2006 and retired in 2007. From July 2007 to March 2010, Fry served as CEO of HP Enterprise Services Defence & Security UK, in January 2010 he was appointed chairman of the business consultancy McKinney Rogers International and in 2011 became chairman of Albany Associates. He remains an advisor to HP and a number of companies in the defence. Fry is an established essayist and occasional columnist and he is also a visiting professor at Reading University, a visiting fellow at Oxford University and a visiting professor at Kings College London Department of War Studies. He is also a member the Royal United Services Institute executive council, early on in his career Fry was Mentioned in Despatches and appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Later on he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services as commander of a brigade in Kosovo in 1998. In 2012 he became the first non US recipient of the USMC Semper Fidelis award and he is married to Liz and they have two daughters. He maintains his military links as colonel of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, and is a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers
19.
James Dutton (Royal Marines officer)
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Lieutenant General Sir James Benjamin Jim Dutton, KCB, CBE, ADC is the former Governor of Gibraltar and a retired Royal Marines officer. He held various positions in his early career, before commanding 40 Commando. A newspaper later pinpointed this as the moment when Duttons career took off, after the planning for the invasion, Dutton took command of 3 Commando Brigade, which was already serving in Afghanistan. He commanded his men through heavy resistance from Iraqi forces in the days of the war. As a general officer, he served as Commandant General Royal Marines, the head of the Royal Marines. His last field post, as a lieutenant general, was as Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Dutton retired in 2010 but was later appointed Governor of Gibraltar, taking up office on 6 December 2013, where he retired early, in September 2015. Dutton, the son of Edgar and Aileen Dutton, was educated at The Kings School, Chester, before attending City University London, the couple have one son, who is also an officer in the Royal Marines, and one daughter. Dutton lists his interests as sailing and running, Dutton originally applied to join the British Army but failed the selection process. He applied to join, and was commissioned into, the Royal Marines in 1972 and he was promoted to acting lieutenant in 1975, before being granted the substantive rank in 1976, with seniority from October 1975. He served as a officer in the Falklands War and. In 1996 he assumed command of 40 Commando, in position he served on manoeuvres in Asia. As a brigadier, Dutton served at the Ministry of Defence as Director, NATO policy, while seconded to The Pentagon, Dutton was involved in the joint American and British planning for the subsequent War on Terror. The Times called this assignment the moment Duttons career took off, keen to command the Royal Marines in action in Afghanistan, Dutton took command of 3 Commando Brigade in 2002 and deployed to Afghanistan in command of 1700 personnel, succeeding Roger Lane. The brigade had a tour of duty in Iraq in early 2003, with the brigade, Dutton also undertook cold-weather training in Norway in 2004. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in October 2003, in 2002, Dutton was given the honorary appointment of Aide-de-camp to the Queen. He relinquished CGRM/COMUKAMPHIBFOR in June 2006, succeeded by Major General Garry Robison, taking a staff post as Chief of Staff and he was appointed Honorary Colonel of 131 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers in March 2006, succeeding Lieutenant General Sir Robert Fry. In 2005, he deployed to Basra, Iraq, taking command of Multi-national Division, Dutton added I simply dont know whether this is Iranian government policy or whether this is simply groups who are using Iran for their own purposes and not being controlled. During his tenure, the insurgency in Afghanistan peaked, Dutton was succeeded in his post at ISAF by Lieutenant General Nick Parker at the end of 2009
20.
David Capewell
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Lieutenant General Sir David Andrew Capewell KCB, OBE is a Royal Marines officer who has served as Chief of Joint Operations. Capewell was commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1979, holding a special short-service commission and he was confirmed in the rank of lieutenant on 1 September 1983, and was transferred to a full career commission on 29 October 1985. As a junior officer he served in Northern Ireland, Zimbabwe and he was promoted to major on 31 December 1994. He became Chief of Staff of 3 Commando Brigade in 1998 and he was promoted to colonel on 31 December 1999 and appointed Commanding Officer of 40 Commando in March 2000. In January 2002, he was appointed Chief of Staff, UK Joint Force Headquarters, in which role he served as Chief of Operations and he was appointed OBE in the 2002 Birthday Honours for service in Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. Capewell went on to be British Liaison Officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the United States in 2004 and he became Assistant Chief of Staff at Permanent Joint Headquarters in May 2005 and Commander of 3 Commando Brigade in June 2007. Capewell was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 2014 New Year Honours for commanding UK Global Operations during a period of unprecedented volatility and he is married to Deborah and has two daughters
21.
David Henderson (British Army officer)
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He served as the commander of the Royal Flying Corps in the field during the first year of the First World War and was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force as an independent service. After the war Henderson was the first Director-General of the League of Red Cross Societies, David Henderson was born in Glasgow on 11 August 1862 into a ship-owning family. His father, also called David Henderson, was a joint owner of the Clydeside ship builders David and William Henderson, Henderson entered the University of Glasgow in 1877 at the age of just fifteen. While there, he read engineering and in his fourth year he studied engineering and mechanics as well as office. For reasons now unknown, he left the university to train for a career at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. The couple had three children including Ian Henry David Henderson, who joined the Royal Flying Corps, but Ian Henderson predeceased his parents. Dame Henrietta Henderson lived until 14 April 1959, following officer training at the Royal Military College Sandhurst, Henderson was commissioned into the British Army on 25 August 1883, joining the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as a lieutenant. He was promoted to captain on 26 February 1890, and was a member of the Nile Expedition of 1898, following which he received a brevet promotion to the rank of major on 16 November 1898. With the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, he was posted to South Africa and he received a brevet promotion to lieutenant-colonel on 29 November 1900. In February 1901, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, Lord Kitchener, appointed Henderson his Director of Military Intelligence, in a despatch dated 23 June 1902, Kitchener wrote how Henderson had invariable done his best to cope with the great difficulties of his position. His subsequent works, Field Intelligence, Its Principles and Practice and The Art of Reconnaissance, in 1911, at the age of 49, Henderson learned to fly, making him the world’s oldest pilot at that time. He formed part of the technical sub-committee of the Air Committee which helped to decide the organisation of the Royal Flying Corps, in 1913 the control of military aviation was separated from the responsibilities of the Master-General of the Ordnance. On 22 November 1914, Henderson was appointed General Officer Commanding the 1st Infantry Division, however, Henderson did not spend long commanding the 1st Infantry Division. The decision to post Henderson and replace him with Sykes was not to Lord Kitcheners liking, on 20 December 1914, Henderson resumed command of the Royal Flying Corps in the Field and Sykes was once again his Chief of Staff. In 1915 Henderson returned to London to resume his London-based duties as Director-General of Military Aeronautics and this meant that when, in 1917, General Jan Smuts was writing his review of the British Air Services, Henderson was well placed to assist. While seconded to General Smuts, Henderson wrote much of what came to be called the Smuts Report and it has been argued that he had a better claim to the informal title father of the Royal Air Force than Sir Hugh Trenchard. Trenchard himself believed that Henderson deserved the accolade, in January 1918, Henderson was made a member of the Air Council, serving as its vice-president. However, having not been appointed as the RAFs Chief of the Air Staff, Henderson resigned from the Air Council in April, following his departure from the Air Council, Henderson returned to France where he served until October 1918
22.
Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard
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Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the Father of the Royal Air Force, during his formative years Trenchard struggled academically, failing many examinations and only just succeeding in meeting the minimum standard for commissioned service in the British Army. As a young officer, Trenchard served in India and with the outbreak of the Boer War. While fighting the Boers, Trenchard was critically wounded and as a result of his injury, on medical advice Trenchard travelled to Switzerland to recuperate and boredom saw him taking up bobsleighing. After a heavy crash, Trenchard found that his paralysis was gone, following further recuperation, Trenchard returned to active service in South Africa. After the end of the Boer War, Trenchard saw service in Nigeria where he was involved in efforts to bring the interior under settled British rule, during his time in West Africa, Trenchard commanded the Southern Nigeria Regiment for several years. In Summer 1912, Trenchard learned to fly and gained his aviators certificate on 31 July flying a Henry Farman biplane of the Sopwith School of Flying at Brooklands and he was subsequently appointed as second in command of the Central Flying School. He held several positions in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. In 1918, he served as the first Chief of the Air Staff before taking up command of the Independent Air Force in France. Returning as Chief of the Air Staff under Winston Churchill in 1919 and he was Metropolitan Police Commissioner in the 1930s and a defender of the RAF in his later years. Trenchard is recognized today as one of the advocates of strategic bombing. Hugh Montague Trenchard was born at Windsor Lodge on Haines Hill in Taunton and he was the third child and second son of Henry Montague Trenchard and his wife Georgina Louisa Catherine Tower. Trenchards father was a captain in the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, although in the 1870s the Trenchards were living in an unremarkable fashion, their forebears had played notable roles in English history. Notable ancestors were Sir Thomas Trenchard, a High Sheriff of Dorset in the 16th century and Sir John Trenchard, when Hugh Trenchard was two, the family moved to Courtlands, a farm-cum-manor house less than three miles from the centre of Taunton. The country setting meant that the young Trenchard could enjoy a life, including spending time hunting rabbits. It was during his years that Trenchard and his siblings were educated at home by a resident tutor. Unfortunately for Trenchards education, the tutor was neither strict enough nor skillful enough to overcome the childrens mischievous attempts to avoid receiving instruction, as a consequence, Trenchard did not excel academically, however, his enthusiasm for games and riding was evident. At the age of 10, Trenchard was sent to board at Allens Preparatory School near Botley in Hampshire, although he did well at arithmetic, he struggled with the rest of the curriculum
23.
Letters patent
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Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations or government offices, or for the granting of city status or a coat of arms. Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown, such as governors and governors-general of Commonwealth realms, in the United Kingdom they are also issued for the creation of peers of the realm. A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern patent granting exclusive rights in an invention. e, the opposite of letters patent are letters close, which are personal in nature and sealed so that only the recipient can read their contents. Letters patent are thus comparable to other kinds of open letter in that their audience is wide, letters patent are so named from the Latin verb pateo, to lie open, exposed, accessible. The originators seal was attached pendent from the document, so that it did not have to be broken in order for the document to be read. Thus letters patent do not equate to a letter but rather to any form of document, deed, contract, letter, despatch, edict, decree. Letters patent are a form of open or public proclamation and an exercise of extra-parliamentary power by a monarch or president. Prior to the establishment of Parliament, the monarch ruled absolutely by the issuing of his written orders. They can thus be contrasted with the Act of Parliament, which is in effect an order by Parliament. No explicit government approval is contained within letters patent, only the seal or signature of the monarch, in their original form they were simply written instructions or orders from the sovereign, whose order was law, which were made public to reinforce their effect. According to the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice, there are 92 different types of letters patent. The Patent Rolls are made up of copies of English royal letters patent. In 1634, during the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II became convinced that his general Albrecht von Wallenstein was plotting treason, on 24 January 1634 the Emperor signed a secret patent removing him from his command. Finally an open patent, charging Wallenstein with high treason, was signed on 18 February, in the patent, Ferdinand II ordered to have Wallenstein brought under arrest to Vienna, dead or alive. On the basis of patent, several of Wallensteins officers assassinated him and were rewarded by the Emperor. The form of patent for creating peerages has been fixed by the Crown Office Order 1992. Part III of the schedule lays down nine pro forma texts for creating various ranks of the peerage, lords of appeal in ordinary, gender-specific differences are highlighted in italics. In Commonwealth realms, letters patent are issued under the powers of the head of state
24.
Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In this sense, officers are not enlisted, but hold appointments from their government that typically remain in force indefinitely unless resigned, the proportion of officers varies greatly. Officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel, in 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13. 7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers, in the early twentieth century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12. 5%. Within a nations armed forces, armies tend to have a proportion of officers. For example,13. 9% of British army personnel and 22. 2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, a superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior. Non-commissioned officers in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se, many advanced militaries require university degrees as a prerequisite for commissioning, even from the enlisted ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the IDF often sponsors the studies for its majors, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes. In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers, the first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. The third route is similar to the second, in that they convert from an enlisted to a commission, but these are taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs. LE officers, whilst holding the same Queens Commission, generally work in different roles from the DE officers, in the infantry, a number of Warrant Officer Class 1s are commissioned as LE officers. For Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer candidates, a 30-week period at Britannia Royal Naval College or a 30-week period at RAF College Cranwell, Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a grueling 15-month course. The courses consist of not only tactical and combat training, but also leadership, management, etiquette, until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, AOCS also also included the embedded Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate and Naval Aviation Cadet programs. NAVCADs were personnel who held associates degrees, but lacked bachelors degrees, nAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial tour, they would be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelors degree
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British Armed Forces
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They also promote Britains wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts, and provide humanitarian aid. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the leading military. The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the armed forces by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, with the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India and this ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles, once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germanys invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began. The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East, approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations, reflecting Britains new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War, the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. By the mid-1970s, the forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, however the Dhofar Rebellion and The Troubles emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War. Since the end of the Cold War, an international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare. In addition to the campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War. As Sovereign and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Armed Forces, the Queen, however, remains the ultimate authority of the military, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to the monarch. It has been claimed that this includes the power to prevent unconstitutional use of the armed forces, responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees, the Defence Council, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of representatives of the services
26.
One-star rank
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An officer of one-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-6. The term is used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, one-star officers hold the rank of commodore, flotilla admiral, brigadier general, brigadier, or in the case of air forces with a separate rank structure. Officers of one-star rank are either the most junior of the flag, general and air officer ranks, specifically, in many navies, one-star officers are not considered to be flag officers, although this is not always the case. The army and air force rank of general is, by definition. However, the equivalent rank of brigadier is usually not designated as a general officer, the air force rank of air commodore is always considered to be an air-officer rank. Edwards crown and crossed sabre and baton, before unification in 1968, the rank of air commodore was the one-star rank equivalent for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and brigadier for the Canadian Army. Ranks and insignia of NATO Two-star rank
27.
Two-star rank
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An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank of admiral, counter admiral, major general, or in the case of those air forces with a separate rank structure. The officers in this position are normally brigade commanders, rear-admiral/contre-amiral Major general/major-général Rather than stars, the Canadian Forces insignia use maple leaves. The maple leaves appear with St. Edwards crown and crossed sabre, before unification, air vice marshal was the two-star rank for the RCAF. This also applies to the air force, MVD, police, FSB and some others, in the navy, the equivalent rank is kontr-admiral. Ranks and insignia of NATO Three-star rank One-star rank
28.
Four-star rank
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A four-star rank is the rank of any four-star officer described by the NATO OF-9 code. Four-star officers are often the most senior commanders in the services, having ranks such as admiral, general. This designation is used by some armed forces that are not North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members. In times of conflict, the highest ranks are the five-star ranks, admiral of the fleet, field marshal. General de exército Almirante de esquadra Tenente brigadeiro The four-star rank is reserved in Brazil for the highest post in the military career, the officers in this position take part of the high command of their corporations. The commanders of army, navy and air force are also four-star generals, admiral/amiral General/général General/Admiral is the highest rank within the Canadian Armed Forces as defined within the National Defence Act. Usually, only one officer, the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, is Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces. However, in line with the Letters Patent,1947, the duties, the Minister of National Defence, since not a member of the Canadian forces nor within the military chain-of-command, has no rank. Prince Philip holds the rank of admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy in an honorary capacity as of 2011. Before unification in 1968, the rank of air marshal was the four-star equivalent for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Upon their formation, the Russian armed forces discontinued the ranks of marshal, ranks and insignia of NATO General officer Five-star rank Three-star rank
29.
Five-star rank
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A five-star rank is a very senior military rank, first established in the United States in 1944, with a five-star insignia, and corresponding ranks in other countries. The rank is that of the most senior military commanders. Not all armed forces have such a rank, and in those that do the actual insignia of the five-star ranks may not contain five stars. Typically, five-star officers hold the rank of general of the army, admiral of the fleet, field marshal, marshal of the air force, general of the air force, five-star ranks are extremely senior—usually the highest ranks. As an active rank, the position only in a minority of countries and is usually held by only a very few officers during wartime. In times of peace, it is held only as an honorary rank. Despite the rarity and seniority of officers, even more senior ranks have been adopted in the United States, namely, admiral of the navy. Other names for highly senior ranks from the century include généralissime, generalisimo. Admiral of the fleet Field marshal Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force Only one Australian born officer has held a substantive Australian five-star rank, five-star ranks in Brazil are only used in wartime. Marshal Grand Admiral Marshal of the Air Stožerni general awarded to six men, the rank was called stožerni admiral until 1999, only Sveto Letica was awarded this rank – in March 1996, three months before his retirement. For marshals of the Indian Air Force, the patches display five stars, there are today no living marshals of Poland, since this rank is bestowed only on military commanders who have achieved victory in war. Captain general Captain general of the Spanish Navy Captain general of the Spanish Air Force These ranks have been reserved for the reigning monarch, since 1973 the three ranks have been reserved for members of the royal family. The worn insignia of British five-star commanders do not contain stars, promotion to the rank of field marshal was generally stopped in 1995 as a cost-cutting measure but is still made in some cases. In 2014 the former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Stirrup was promoted to the rank of marshal of the RAF. In 1944 the Navy and Army specified that these officers were considered senior to any officers promoted to the ranks within their services. US officers holding five-star rank never retire, they draw full active duty pay for life, the five-star ranks were retired in 1981 on the death of General of the Army Omar Bradley. Nine Americans have been promoted to rank, one of them, Henry H. Arnold. The appointment stated he was to have rank and precedence over all grades of the Army
30.
Royal Navy officer rank insignia
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Uniforms for naval officers were not authorised until 1748. At first the cut and style of the uniform differed considerably between ranks and specific rank insignia only sporadically used, by the 1790s, the Royal Navys first established uniform regulations had been published. Ranks could be indicated by embroidery on the cuffs, by arrangement of buttons or, after 1795, however, there was no consistent system and insignia might differ between uniforms, and were altered several times. Sometimes there was no indication of rank at all. Midshipmen received a patch on the collar in 1758, the oldest badge still in use today. The modern system of rings on the cuffs originated on 11 April 1856. For the first time these were applied to all blue uniforms. On 16 April 1861 mates were commissioned as sub-lieutenants and lieutenants were divided into those of eight years seniority. In 1919 the admirals narrow stripe was reduced to 1⁄2in, but as King George V had not approved the change, in 1931 all the 1⁄2in rings were all increased to 9⁄16in. The curl was introduced in 1856, but initially only the military, other branches had plain rings, from 1863 with coloured distinction cloth between or below them. Until 1891 officers of the branches had single-breasted coats with different arrangements of buttons. Engineer officers received the curl in 1915 and all officers in 1918. At the same time also received other things such as oak leaves on the peaked cap that had formerly been the prerogative of the military branch. Naval pilots in the Fleet Air Arm have wings above the curl, other Fleet Air Arm officers had a letter A inside the curl. From 1795 rank badges could also be shown on epaulettes, the system changed several times, but after 1864 was as follows, Sub-lieutenants and commissioned warrant officers wore scales and the same device as a lieutenant. Epaulettes of the branch were gold throughout with silver devices, while those of the civil branches had a silver edging. Instead of the baton and sword or foul anchor, civil branch epaulettes substituted a star, navigating branch epaulettes were the same as the military branch, but with crossed plain anchors in place of the foul anchor. Also in 1891 shoulder-straps were introduced for use on white uniforms and on the greatcoat, for these commodores first class and above used the same badge as on their epaulettes, and commodores second class and below used their rank rings
31.
Officer cadet
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Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries, the Australian Defence Force follows the same usage as the British military system, using the rank of officer cadet, for personnel undergoing initial officer training. They do however hold probationary commissions, Officer cadets in the Australian Army are subordinate to warrant officers and officers and address them as sir or maam. As officer cadets are appointed to their positions, they are superior to some other ranks. The ranks of cadet, staff cadet, and midshipman are primarily found at these establishments. Officer cadets are appointed to the Australian Army Reserve where training is conducted on a part-time basis at various University Regiments around the country. Australian Army Reserve officer cadets must pass various training courses throughout their training with the final module completed at the Royal Military College, pilots, air traffic controllers and air combat officers joining the RAAF directly through the Officers Training School also start their career as an officer cadet. Once they have completed their employment training, they are promoted, Officer cadets may sometimes hold a staff or even line appointments within a unit, such as second-in-command of a platoon within a company-sized or larger unit. This is usually done for work purposes, and in such roles. Some officer cadets, who are going through ROTP, are qualified in their military trade. However, those officers are ineligible to receive a commission until holding a university degree, for Royal Canadian Navy members of the same rank, naval cadet, or aspirant de marine in French, is used in lieu of officer cadet. Officer cadets and naval cadets are referred to and addressed as Mister Smith or Miss Smith, there is also a tendency in less cordial environments to refer to an officer cadet as OC Smith. Officer cadets are generally addressed as mister or miss by commissioned officers, in non-training environments, such as a base or wing, they are referred to as sir or maam by non-commissioned members. Officer cadets and naval cadets in the CF are subordinate officers and they do not carry the Queens commission, and as such are not required to be saluted by CF members, however they frequently are, except in a training environment. This gives rise to the derogatory term quarter-inch admiral as a term for cadets who try to insist that they are superior in rank to other members. In the Canadian Army, the insignia is one pip over a white band. The peak of the cap is plain. In the Indonesian service academies, there is a system associated to the cadets training and studying in the academy
32.
Midshipman
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A midshipman is an officer cadet or a commissioned officer candidate of the junior-most rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. Beginning in the 18th century, an officer candidate was rated as a midshipman. After serving at least three years as a midshipman or masters mate, he was eligible to take the examination for lieutenant, promotion to lieutenant was not automatic, and many midshipmen took positions as masters mates for an increase in pay and responsibility aboard ship. Midshipman began to mean an officer cadet at a naval college, trainees now spent around four years in a college and two years at sea prior to promotion to commissioned officer rank. Between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries, time at sea declined to less than a year as the age was increased from 12 to 18. Ranks equivalent to midshipman exist in other navies. Using US midshipman or pre-fleet board UK midshipman as the basis for comparison, using post-fleet board UK midshipman for comparison, the rank would be the most junior commissioned officer in the rank structure, and similar to a US ensign in role and responsibility. Today, these ranks all refer to cadets, but historically they were selected by the monarchy. The first published use of the term midshipman was in 1662, the word derives from an area aboard a ship, amidships, but it refers either to the location where midshipmen worked on the ship, or the location where midshipmen were berthed. By the 18th century, four types of midshipman existed, midshipman, midshipman extraordinary, midshipman, by 1794, all midshipmen were considered officer candidates, and the original rating was phased out. Beginning in 1661, boys who aspired to become officers were sent by their families to serve on ships with a letter of service from the crown, and were paid at the same rate as midshipmen. Their official rating was volunteer-per-order, but they were known as Kings letter boys. Beginning in 1677, Royal Navy regulations for promotion to lieutenant required service as a midshipman, by the Napoleonic era, the regulations required at least three years of services as a midshipman or masters mate and six years of total sea time. Sea time was earned in various ways, most boys served this period at sea in any lower rating, either as a servant of one of the ships officers, a volunteer, or a seaman. By the 1730s, the rating volunteer-per-order was phased out and replaced with a system where prospective midshipmen served as servants for officers. For example, a captain was allowed four servants for every 100 men aboard his ship, the school was unpopular in the Navy, because officers enjoyed the privilege of having servants and preferred the traditional method of training officers via apprenticeship. Volunteers were paid £6 per year, by 1816, the rating of midshipman ordinary was phased out, and all apprentice officers were rated as midshipmen
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Sub-lieutenant
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Sub-lieutenant is a junior military officer rank. In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a commissioned or subordinate officer. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army, in some armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, the NATO rank code for the British Royal Navy rank is OF-1. In the British Royal Navy, a passed midshipman awaiting promotion often elected to become a masters mate, normally an experienced petty officer who assisted the sailing master. Though formally the rating did not lead to promotion to lieutenant, a midshipman who became a masters mate got an increase in pay from £1 13s 6d to £3 16s per month, but initially reduced his chances at a commission. Over time, however, service as a masters mate became a part of the path to a commission. By the first years of the 19th century, the masters was dropped for passed midshipmen. In 1824 two further grades were introduced, consisting of masters assistants and second-class volunteers. These corresponded to midshipmen and first-class volunteers respectively in the executive line, from this point, passed midshipmen had the rating masters mate, abbreviated as mate, and prospective masters had the rating masters assistant. These changes helped eliminate the confusion caused by the mingling of midshipmen in the navigators branch, in 1838 a Royal Commission, presided over by the Duke of Wellington, recommended the institution of the rank of mate as an official step between midshipman and lieutenant. In 1861 mate was abolished in favour of sub-lieutenant, in 1955, the Royal Navy created the rank of acting sub-lieutenant. Unlike their substantive counterparts, acting sub-lieutenants are subordinate officers, as they hold their ranks by order, upon passing Fleet Board, acting sub-lieutenants were confirmed as sub-lieutenants and issued commissions backdated to the date when they were appointed acting sub-lieutenants. The rank of Acting Sub-lieutenant remains in the Royal Navy only within the University Royal Naval Unit where Training Officers enter at this rank. Before its abolition, the rank of acting sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy corresponded with, but was junior to and this can be seen in print versions of STANAG2116 edition 5. Indeed, when someone is addressed as Acting sub-lieutenant, it can be seen as a way of patronising an individual in a derogatory manner due to the emphasis of their acting rank, the Royal New Zealand Navy follows the US precedent in titling its lowest commissioned officer ensign. In the Royal Thai Army, Army Reserve Force Students who complete grade 5, in the modern Royal Navy, all officer cadets now commission as midshipmen, regardless of whether they are a graduate, upper yardsmen, or a school leaver. They are subsequently promoted to sub-lieutenant one year after entering Britannia Royal Naval College, in France, a sub-lieutenant is the junior commissioned officer in the army or the air force
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Lieutenant (navy)
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Lieutenant is a commissioned officer rank in many nations navies. It is typically the most senior of junior officer ranks, the ranks insignia usually consists of two medium gold braid stripes and often the uppermost stripe features a loop or executive curl. The now immediately senior rank of lieutenant commander was formerly a naval lieutenant rank. Many navies also use a rank of sub-lieutenant. The appointment of first lieutenant in many navies is held by a senior lieutenant, a navy lieutenant ranks higher than an army lieutenant, the navy rank of lieutenant is a NATO OF-2 and ranks with an army captain. From at least 1580, the lieutenant on a ship had been the officer immediately subordinate to the captain, before the English Restoration, lieutenants were appointed by their captains, and this inevitably led to abuses and to the widespread appointment of men of insufficient qualification. In 1677, Samuel Pepys introduced the first examination for lieutenant, lieutenants were numbered by their seniority within the ship, so that a frigate would have a first lieutenant, a second lieutenant, and a third lieutenant. A first-rate ship was entitled to six, and they were numbered accordingly, as the rank structure of navies stabilised, and the ranks of commander, lieutenant commander and sub-lieutenant were introduced, the naval lieutenant today ranks with an army captain. In the United States Navy, promotion to lieutenant is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980, DOPMA guidelines suggest 95% of lieutenants should be promoted to lieutenant after serving a minimum of two years at their present rank. The insignia of a lieutenant in many navies, including the Royal Navy and this pattern was copied by the United States Navy and various air forces for their equivalent ranks grades, except that the loop is removed. The first lieutenant in the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies, is a post or appointment, historically, the lieutenants in a ship were ranked in accordance with seniority, with the most senior being termed the first lieutenant and acting as the second-in-command. Although lieutenants are no longer numbered by seniority, the post of first lieutenant remains, the post of first lieutenant in a shore establishment carries a similar responsibility to that of the first lieutenant of a capital ship. In the US Navy or US Coast Guard, the billet of first lieutenant describes the officer in charge of the department or division. On submarines and smaller Coast Guard cutters, the billet of first lieutenant may be filled by a petty officer
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Commander (Royal Navy)
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Commander is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is immediately junior to captain and immediately senior to the rank of lieutenant commander, officers holding the junior rank of lieutenant commander are not considered to be commanders. These ships were usually unrated sloops-of-war of no more than 20 guns, fireships, hospital ships, the commanding officer of this type of ship was responsible for both sailing and fighting the ship and was thus its master and commander. Before 1750 the rank was considered as the limit of advancement for those without patronage. By contrast those with Parliamentary supporters or family connections were more likely only a nominal period as master and commander of a sloop before being elevated to post-captain. Over the later eighteenth century the rank evolved into a regular stage of service between lieutenant and captain. The Royal Navy shortened master and commander to commander in 1794, however, commanders unable to secure a ship were left ashore on half-pay, with limited prospects for future advancement. This promotions bottleneck was addressed from 1827 with the introduction of commanders as a second-in-command on larger vessels, in the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank has been assigned the NATO rank code of OF-4, matching the army rank of lieutenant colonel. A commander in the Royal Navy is senior to a holding the rank of lieutenant commander. A commander may command a frigate, destroyer, submarine, aviation squadron or shore installation, formerly equivalent to the Army rank of major, a commander is now equivalent in rank to a lieutenant colonel in the British Army or a wing commander in the Royal Air Force. The rank of wing commander was derived from the rank of commander via the usage in the World War I Royal Naval Air Service. The rank insignia of a commander features three rings of gold braid with a loop in the upper ring
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Captain (Royal Navy)
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Please see Captain for other versions of this naval rank. Captain is an 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 and Royal Marines, and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. There are similarly named equivalent ranks in the navies of other countries. In former times Royal Navy officers who were Captains by rank and in command of a vessel were referred to as Post-Captains. In the Ministry of Defence, and in Joint Service establishments, the rank insignia features four rings of gold braid with a loop in the upper ring. When in mess dress or mess undress, officers of the rank of Captain and above wear gold-laced trousers, and may wear the undress tailcoat
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Commodore (Royal Navy)
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Please see Commodore for other versions of this rank. Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above captain and below rear admiral and it has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines, a modern commodores rank insignia consists of a 45-millimetre-wide band of gold lace, with a circle of 13-millimetre-wide lace 45 millimetres in diameter above. Modern commodores wear the insignia worn by commodores second class. Commodore has only been a rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Before then it continued to be an appointment conferred on senior captains holding certain positions, Air commodore Commodore-in-Chief United States one-star rank Naval Service Uniform Regulations. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011
