This is a table of the ranks and insignia of the Canadian Armed Forces. As the Canadian Armed Forces is officially bilingual, the French language ranks are presented following the English.
Chief warrant officer is a senior warrant officer rank, used in many countries.
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy Scouts, civil defence organisations, ambulance services, customs services, fire services etc.
Mess dress uniform is the most formal type of evening-wear uniform used by military personnel, police personnel, and other uniformed services members. It frequently consists of a mess jacket, trousers, white dress shirt and a black bow tie, along with orders and medals insignia. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In modern Western dress codes, mess dress uniform is the supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian black tie for evening wear. Mess dress uniforms are typically less formal than full dress uniform, but more formal than service dress uniform.
A side cap is a military cap that can be folded flat when not being worn. It is also known as a garrison cap or flight cap in the United States, wedge cap in Canada, or field service cap in the United Kingdom; or in vulgar slang as a cunt cap. In form the side cap is comparable to the glengarry, a folding version of the Scottish military bonnet. It has been associated with various military forces since the middle of the 19th century, as well as various civilian organizations.
The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It derives its name from its short visor, or peak, which was historically made of polished leather but increasingly is made of a cheaper synthetic substitute.
Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honorary role outside the executive military structure, such as advocacy for the troops.
The Military ranks of Finland are the military insignia used by the Finnish Defence Forces. The ranks incorporates features from Swedish, German, and Russian armed forces. In addition, the system has some typically Finnish characteristics that are mostly due to the personnel structure of the Finnish Defence Forces. The ranks have official names in Finnish and Swedish languages and official English translations. The Swedish forms are used in all Swedish-languages communications in Finland, e.g. in Swedish-speaking units of Finnish Defence Force. The system of ranks in the Swedish Armed Forces is slightly different.
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to trace back to uniforms used during the 19th century, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.
Master warrant officer (MWO) is a senior military rank in the Bangladesh Armed Forces, the Canadian Forces, Singapore Armed Forces, the South African National Defence Force and the Israel Defense Forces.
The uniforms of the Canadian Armed Forces are the official dress worn by members of Canada's military while on duty.
Lieutenant-general is a Canadian Forces rank used by commissioned officers of the Canadian Army or Royal Canadian Air Force. Vice-admiral is the equivalent rank in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Major is a rank of the Canadian Armed Forces. The rank insignia of a major in the Royal Canadian Air Force is two half-inch stripes with a quarter-inch stripe between. The rank insignia in the Canadian Army is a crown. Majors fill the positions of company/squadron/battery commanders, or deputy commanders of a battalion/regiment; in the Air Force they are typically squadron second-in-command, or commander of a detached helicopter flight embarked onboard Canadian naval vessels. The naval equivalent rank for major is lieutenant-commander.
The uniforms of the British Army currently exist in twelve categories ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress. Uniforms in the British Army are specific to the regiment to which a soldier belongs. Full dress presents the most differentiation between units, and there are fewer regimental distinctions between ceremonial dress, service dress, barrack dress and combat dress, though a level of regimental distinction runs throughout.
In the Canadian Forces, lieutenant-colonel is a rank for officers who wear army or air force uniform, equal to commander for officers who wear navy uniform. Lieutenant-colonel is the second-highest rank of senior officer. A lieutenant-colonel is senior to a major or lieutenant-commander, and junior to a colonel or naval captain.
Gorget patches are an insignia in the form of paired patches of cloth or metal on the collar of a uniform (gorget), used in the military and civil service in some countries. Collar tabs sign the military rank, the rank of civil service, the military unit, the office (department) or the branch of the armed forces and the arm of service.
Commodore is a Canadian Forces rank used by commissioned officers of the Royal Canadian Navy. Brigadier-general is the equivalent rank in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force.
In the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of lieutenant-commander (LCdr) is the naval rank equal to major in the army or air force and is the first rank of senior officer. Lieutenant-commanders are senior to lieutenants (N) and to army and air force captains, and are junior to commanders and lieutenant colonels.
The Heer as the German army and part of the Wehrmacht inherited its uniforms and rank structure from the Reichsheer of the Weimar Republic (1921–1935). There were few alterations and adjustments made as the army grew from a limited peacetime defense force of 100,000 men to a war-fighting force of several million men.
The extensive system of uniforms of the Russian Armed Forces was inherited from the Soviet Armed Forces and modified across the years.
