Bombardier (rank)
Bombardier is a military rank that has existed since the 16th century in artillery regiments of various armies, such as in the British Army and the Royal Prussian Army. It is today equivalent to the rank of corporal in other branches, the rank of lance-bombardier is the artillery counterpart of lance-corporal. Bombardier and lance-bombardier are used by the British Army in the Royal Artillery, the same applies to the Royal Australian Artillery, the Royal New Zealand Artillery, the South African Army Artillery and the Armed Forces of Malta. The Royal Canadian Artillery uses the ranks of master bombardier and bombardier, the Royal Artillery had corporals, but not lance-corporals. Unlike a lance-corporal, a bombardier held full non-commissioned rank and not an acting appointment, the rank was equivalent to second corporal in the Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Corps. In 1920 corporals were abolished in the Royal Artillery, bombardiers became the equivalent, the rank of lance bombardier originated as acting bombardier, an appointment similar to lance-corporal and was indicated by a single chevron.
The appointment was renamed lance-bombardier in February 1918 and became a rank, as did lance-corporal. Bomb is widely used as a form of address for both full bombardiers and lance-bombardiers. They may be referred to as a screw or a lance jack. As with other common military abbreviations, such as sarnt, these terms are not used on formal occasions, until the advent of smart bombs and guided missiles, bomber aircraft carried crew members responsible for aiming bombs. In Commonwealth air forces this crew member was the bomb aimer, British Army Other Ranks rank insignia Comparative military ranks Canadian Forces ranks and insignia Texts on Wikisource, Bombardier
Air commodore
Air commodore is a one-star rank and the most junior general rank of the air-officer which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The name of the rank is always the full phrase and is never shortened to Commodore, Air commodore is a one-star rank and the most junior air officer rank, being immediately senior to group captain and immediately subordinate to air vice-marshal. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6 and is equivalent to a commodore in the Royal Navy or a brigadier in the British Army or the Royal Marines, unlike these two ranks, however, it has always been a substantive rank. In other NATO forces, such as the United States Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, the equivalent rank in the Womens Auxiliary Air Force, Womens Royal Air Force and Princess Marys Royal Air Force Nursing Service was air commandant. In the present-day RAF, air commodores typically hold senior appointments within groups, during the inter-war period, and in the case of the contemporary No.83 Expeditionary Air Group, the air officer commanding held or holds air commodore rank.
In the Air Training Corps, an air commodore holds ultimate authority over the cadet organisation as the Commandant Air Cadets. On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with officers at what is now air commodore holding the rank of brigadier-general. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navys officer ranks. However, the title based on the Navy rank was preferred. The rank insignia is a band on a broad black band worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform. On the mess uniform, air commodores wear a gold ring on both lower sleeves. The command flag of an air commodore has one narrow red band running through the centre and is rectangular with a section giving it two tails. It is the only RAF command flag of this shape and it is similar in shape to that of a Royal Navy commodores broad pennant, the vehicle star plate for an air commodore depicts a single white star on an air force blue background. RAF air commodores are classed as air officers and as such have two rows of oak leaves on the peak of their service dress hats.
The reigning monarch may appoint honorary air commodores for RAF flying squadrons and stations, for example, Prince Charles is RAF Valleys honorary air commodore and Winston Churchill was 615 Squadrons honorary air commodore. As the title suggests, this is a position bestowed by the reigning monarch. It is designed to strengthen the bond between the unit and the individual and promote the role of the air force amongst the public. Serving officers, such as Prince Harry, may be granted an equivalent appointment to the honorary rank, in such cases the individual is made an honorary air commandant and they retain their regular rank
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 in the British Army, a petty officer is superior in rank to leading rate and subordinate to chief petty officer, in the case of the British armed forces. The modern petty officer dates back to the Age of Sail, Petty officers rank between naval officers and most enlisted sailors. These were men with some claim to rank, sufficient to distinguish them from ordinary ratings. Several were warrant officers, in the sense of being appointed by warrant. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the title derives from the Anglo-Norman and Middle French petit, meaning of small size, little. Two of the petty officers rates and masters mate, were a superior petty officer with a general authority. However, it was possible for a warrant officer, in his role as a superior officer. This is because both were regarded as future sea officers, with the all-important social distinction of having the right to walk the quarterdeck, midshipmen wore distinctive uniforms, masters mates dressed respectably, and both behaved like officers.
The masters mate rating evolved into the rank of sub-lieutenant, there are two petty officer ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. Petty officer, 2nd class is equivalent to a sergeant and petty officer, Petty officers are normally addressed as Petty Officer Bloggins or PO Bloggins, thereafter as PO. The NATO rank denotion for petty officer, 2nd class is OR-6, the NATO rank denotion for petty officer, 1st class is OR-7. A petty officer is an officer in the Indian Navy. They are equal in rank to an sub inspector of police in the Indian Police Services, or sergeant in the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. A petty officer is superior in rank to a rate and subordinate to a chief petty officer. A petty officer has the ability to work as a leader, capable of taking charge of a group of personnel, in the Royal Navy, the rate of petty officer comes above that of leading rating and below that of chief petty officer. It is the equivalent of sergeant in the Royal Marines, British Army, Petty officer is the lowest of the senior rating grades.
Petty officers, like all senior rates, wear fore and aft rig, the title of petty officer in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard has three separate classes and three senior grades
Commandant (rank)
For more information on commandant when used as a position, see Commandant. Commandant is a military or police rank, in the French, Spanish and Monegasque armed forces it is a rank equivalent to major. In South Africa for most of the half of the 20th century. In the Canadian Forces, “commandant” is the French-language title for a major of any unit, however, in English, “commandant” is used exclusively to identify those commanding officers responsible for units that provide a service or oversight to some lodger population. Prior to its amendment in 2014, the National Defence Act identified “Commandant daviation” as the French translation for the rank of squadron leader, Commandant is a military rank in both the Irish Army and Irish Air Corps. It is equivalent to major or squadron leader in armed forces. In the Irish Naval Service, the equivalent rank is lieutenant commander, Commandant, is an officer-grade rank of the Military of France, specifically the French Army and the French Air Force, which is equivalent to major.
The commandant is styled chef de bataillon in the infantry, chef descadrons in the cavalry and chef descadron in the artillery. Commandant is the style, but not the rank, of the officers of the French Navy. Prior to the French Revolution, the major was the appointed by the King to keep track of the expenditures. He could have a deputy and could be either a commoner or a nobleman, a major was graded as a commissar, not an officer. The officer at commandant rank level was the chef de bataillon or chef descadron, major is now, the most senior warrant officer rank, above adjudant-chef. Comandante is an officer rank used in some Latin American countries. The Chilean Air Force uses the rank of comandante de escuadrilla as an equivalent to the British rank of squadron leader. The Peruvian Air Force uses the rank of comandante as an equivalent to lieutenant-colonel or wing commander, comandante can be translated into English either as commandant or as commander. The rank may be found in numerous organizations, such as the Sandinistas.
The rank comandante en jefe, may be found in the nation of Cuba as a military rank held by Raúl Castro. The rank of comandante en jefe is the equivalent of a marshal or general of the army
General officer
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations air forces or marines. The term general is used in two ways, as the title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, the adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction. Today, the title of General is known in countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks and it has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies. The various grades of general officer are at the top of the rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers. There are two systems of general ranks used worldwide. In addition there is a system, the Arab system of ranks. Variations of one form, the old European system, were used throughout Europe.
It is used in the United Kingdom, from which it spread to the Commonwealth. The other is derived from the French Revolution, where ranks are named according to the unit they command. The system used either a general or a colonel general rank. The rank of marshal was used by some countries as the highest rank. Many countries actually used two brigade command ranks, which is why some countries now use two stars as their brigade general insignia and Argentina still use two brigade command ranks. As a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major, confusion arises because a lieutenant is outranked by a major. Originally the serjeant major was, the commander of the infantry, junior only to the captain general, the distinction of serjeant major general only applied after serjeant majors were introduced as a rank of field officer. Serjeant was eventually dropped from both titles, creating the modern rank titles
Wing commander (rank)
It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-4, and is equivalent to Commander in the Royal Navy and to Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the US Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps. The equivalent rank in the Womens Auxiliary Air Force, Womens Royal Air Force, the equivalent rank in the Royal Observer Corps was observer commander which had a similar rank insignia. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navys officer ranks. For example, the rank that became wing commander would have been air commander and it was suggested that RAF lieutenant colonels might be entitled reeves or wing-leaders. However, the rank wing commander was chosen as wings were typically commanded by RAF lieutenant colonels.
The rank of wing commander has been used continuously since 1 August 1919, in the early years of the RAF, a wing commander commanded a flying wing, typically a group of three or four aircraft squadrons. In current usage a wing commander is more likely to command a wing which is an administrative sub-division of an RAF station, a flying squadron is normally commanded by a wing commander but is occasionally commanded by a squadron leader for small units. In the Air Training Corps, a commander is usually the officer commanding of a wing. The rank insignia is based on the three bands of commanders in the Royal Navy and consists of three narrow light blue bands over slightly wider black bands. This is worn on both the sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulder of the flying suit or the casual uniform. The command pennant is two triangular command pennants used in the RAF, two thin red lines differentiate this one from the other. It is used in the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman, the Royal Canadian Air Force used the rank until the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, when army-type rank titles were adopted.
A Canadian wing commander became a lieutenant colonel. In official French Canadian usage, a wing commanders rank title was lieutenant-colonel daviation, the rank of wing commander continues to be used as a cadet rank at the Royal Military College of Canada. In the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command altered the structure of those bases under its control, the commander of such an establishment was re-designated as the wing commander. Like the United States Air Force usage, the wing commander is an appointment
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. Its origin is the Latin serviens, one who serves, through the French term sergent, the term sergeant refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant. In most armies the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a squad, in Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a junior rank corresponding to a four-soldier fireteam leader. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant, many countries use sergeant rank, whether in English or using a cognate with the same origin in another language. The equivalent rank in Arab armies is raqeeb, meaning overseer or watcher, in medieval European usage, a sergeant was simply any attendant or officer with a protective duty. Any medieval knight or military order of knighthood might have sergeants-at-arms, the etymology of the term is from Anglo-French sergant, serjant servant, court official, from Middle Latin servientem servant, soldier.
Later, a sergeant was a man of what would now be thought of as the middle class. Sergeants could fight either as heavy to light cavalry, or as well trained professional infantry, most notable medieval mercenaries fell into the sergeant class, such as Flemish crossbowmen and spearmen, who were seen as reliable quality troops. The sergeant class was deemed to be half of a knight in military value. A specific kind of military sergeant was the serjeant-at-arms, one of a body of armed men retained by English lords, the title is now given to an officer in modern legislative bodies who is charged with keeping order during meetings and, if necessary, forcibly removing disruptive members. The responsibilities of a sergeant differ from army to army, there are usually several ranks of sergeant, each corresponding to greater experience and responsibility for the daily lives of the soldiers of larger units. Sergeant is a rank in both the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force, the ranks are equivalent to each other and the Royal Australian Navy rank of petty officer.
The Australian Army rank of sergeant is now redundant and is no longer awarded, due to being outside the rank equivalencies. Chief petty officers and flight sergeants are not required to call a warrant officer class two sir in accordance with Australian Defence Force Regulations 1952. The rank of sergeant exists in all Australian police forces and is more senior than a constable or senior constable, New South Wales Police Force, for example, has the additional rank of incremental sergeant. This is a progression, following appointment as a sergeant for seven years. An incremental sergeant rank is less senior than a senior sergeant but is more senior than a sergeant, upon appointment as a sergeant or senior sergeant, the sergeant is given a warrant of appointment under the commissioners hand and seal
Colonel
Colonel is a senior military officer rank below the general officer ranks. However, in small military forces, such as those of Iceland or the Vatican. It is used in police forces and paramilitary organizations. Historically, in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army, the rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade general or brigadier general, equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth air force rank system, the equivalent rank is group captain, the word colonel derives from the same root as the word column and means of a column, and, by implication, commander of a column. The word colonel is therefore linked to the column in a similar way that brigadier is linked to brigade. By the end of the medieval period, a group of companies was referred to as a column of an army. Since the word is believed to derive from sixteenth-century Italian, it was presumably first used by Italian city states in that century.
The first use of colonel as a rank in an army was in the French National Legions created by King Francis I by his decree of 1534. Building on the reforms of Louis XIIs decree of 1509. Each colonel commanded a legion with a strength of six thousand men. With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies in the course of the seventeenth century, the Spanish equivalent rank of coronel was used by the Spanish tercios in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, nicknamed the Great Captain, divided his armies in coronelías or colonelcies, the Spanish word probably derives from a different origin, in that it appears to designate an officer of the crown, rather than an officer of the column. This makes the Spanish word coronel probably cognate with the English word coroner and this regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a contract and set of written rules, referred to as the colonels regiment or standing regulation. By extension, the group of companies subject to a colonels regiment came to be referred to as his regiment as well, the position, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of a functionless sinecure.
By the late 19th century, colonel was a military rank though still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit. As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by every nation
Warrant officer
The rank was first used in the 13th century in the English Royal Navy and is today used in most services in many countries, including the Commonwealth nations and the United States. Outside the United States, warrant officers are included in the Other Ranks category, equivalent to the US E category, Warrant officers in the United States are classified as officers and are in the W category, they are technical leaders and specialists. Chief warrant officers are commissioned by the President of the United States and they may be technical experts with a long service as enlisted personnel, or direct entrants, notably for U. S. Army helicopter pilots. The warrant officer corps began in the nascent English Royal Navy, at that time, noblemen with military experience took command of the new Navy, adopting the military ranks of lieutenant and captain. As cannon came into use, the officers required gunnery experts, specialist gunners began to appear in the 16th century, since all warrant officers had responsibility for stores, this was enough to debar the illiterate.
In origin, warrant officers were specialist professionals whose expertise and authority demanded formal recognition, in the early 19th century, they were joined in the wardroom by naval chaplains, who had warrant officer status. Other warrant officers included surgeons mates, boatswains mates and carpenters mates, armourers, masters-at-arms, who had formerly overseen small-arms provision on board, had by this time taken on responsibility for discipline. On 25 July 1864 the standing warrant officers were divided into two grades, warrant officers and chief warrant officers. By the time of the First World War, their ranks had been expanded with the adoption of technology in the Navy to include telegraphists, shipwrights, artificer engineers. Both warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers messed in the warrant officers mess rather than the wardroom, Warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers carried swords, were saluted by ratings, and ranked between sub-lieutenants and midshipmen.
Collectively, these officers were known as officers, being retitled special duties officers in 1956. In 1998, the special duties list was merged with the general list of officers in the Royal Navy, the Australian Army has two warrant officer ranks, warrant officer class one and warrant officer class two, the former is superior in rank to the latter. All warrant officers are addressed as Sir or Maam, to gain the attention of a particular warrant officer in a group, they can be addressed as Warrant Officer Bloggs, sir/maam or by their appointment, e. g. ASM Bloggs, sir/maam. All warrant officers hold an appointment such as company sergeant major or regimental sergeant major, the WO1 appointed to the position of Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army is the most senior warrant officer in the Australian Regular Army, including the Army Reserve. The appointment of RSM-A was introduced in 1991, the rank insignia are, a crown for a WO2, the Australian Commonwealth coat of arms for a WO1, and the Australian Commonwealth coat of arms surrounded by a laurel wreath for the RSM-A.
The Royal Australian Navy rank of warrant officer is the only rank appointed by warrant and is equivalent to the armys WO1. The most senior non-commissioned member of the navy is the warrant officer appointed Warrant Officer of the Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force rank of warrant officer is the air forces only rank appointed by warrant and is equivalent to both the armys WO1 and the navys WO. The most senior non-commissioned member is the warrant officer appointed Warrant Officer of the Air Force, the ranks of adjudant, adjudant-chef, and major may be considered equivalent to Commonwealth warrant officer ranks
Midshipman
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, Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, 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, 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 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
Corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. Within NATO, each member nations corresponding military rank of corporal is combined under the NATO-standard rank scale code OR-4, there are often differences in how each nation employs Corporals. Some militaries dont have Corporals, but may instead have a Junior Sergeant, in some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a section or squad of soldiers. The lateral promotion is used to make the soldier a non-commissioned officer without changing the soldiers pay, as the Table of Organization & Equipment rank of a fire team leader is sergeant and that of squad leader is staff sergeant. In most countries that derive their military structure from the British military system, the word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase capo corporale. It may be derived from an appointment as an officers bodyguard, all three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic use two or three ranks of corporal, or cabo.
Corporals in the Argentine military are considered suboficiales subalternos, superior only to all ranks of Volunteers, in the Argentine Army, there are two ranks of corporal and senior, Cabo and cabo primero. While the Argentine Navy has three ranks, from junior to senior, Cabo segundo, Cabo primero and cabo principal. The Air Force has the number of corporal ranks as the navy. The rank is used by the Argentine National Gendarmerie and the Argentine Federal Police. Corporal is the second lowest of the officer ranks in the Australian Army. A corporal is usually appointed as a commander, and is in charge of 7-14 soldiers of private rank. They are assisted by a second-in-command, usually a lance-corporal or senior private, a Corporal within Artillery is known as a bombardier. Corporal is a rank of the Royal Australian Air Force, with the exception Belgian Naval Component, the branches of the Belgian Armed Forces use three ranks of corporal, master corporal and 1st master corporal. Corporal is equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-3, whereas master corporal, the rank immediately below corporal is 1st private and the rank directly above 1st master corporal is sergeant.
The equivalent of these ranks in the Naval Component are quartermaster, chief quartermaster, Corporal is the first NCO rank of the Army, Air Force and states military polices. Soldiers who successfully complete the course may be promoted to the rank of corporal should they excel in the course. A corporal in the Brazilian Army will lead the smallest fractions of units as machine gun squads, Corporal is an Army and Air Force non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces
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