A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
Field marshal is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army, and as such, few persons are ever appointed to it. It is considered as a five-star rank (OF-10) in modern-day armed forces in many countries. Promotion to the rank of field marshal in many countries historically required extraordinary military achievement by a general. However, the rank has also been used as a divisional command rank and also as a brigade command rank. Examples of the different uses of the rank include Afghanistan, Austria-Hungary, Pakistan, Prussia/Germany, India and Sri Lanka for an extraordinary achievement; Spain and Mexico for a divisional command ; and France, Portugal and Brazil for a brigade command.
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In other countries, it is a non-commissioned rank.
Brigadier general or brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000 troops.
Listed in the table below are the insignia—emblems of authority—of the British Army. Badges for field officers were introduced in 1810 and the insignia was moved to the epaulettes in 1880. On ceremonial or parade uniforms these ranks continue to be worn on the epaulettes, either as cloth slides or as metal clips, although on the modern 'working dress' they are usually worn as a cloth slide on the chest. Although these insignia apply across the British Army there is variation in the precise design and colours used and it can take some time to become familiar with them all.
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command.
Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; Elizabeth II's reign used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force.
Australian Army officers receive a commission from the Governor-General of Australia, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The commission is signed by both the Governor-General and the Minister of Defence. Rank insignia for commissioned officers is identical to that of the British Army, with the addition of a band containing the word "Australia" beneath the insignia.
Before Unification as the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, the Canadian military had three distinct services: the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Canadian Army. All three services had a Regular (full-time) component and a reserve (part-time) component. The rank structure for these services were based on the services of the British military, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and the British Army. The change to a "Canadian" rank structure meant that many of the traditional (British) rank titles and insignia were removed or changed.
Lieutenant general, formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations.
These are the official Royal Navy Officer ranks ordered by rank. These ranks are now part of the NATO/United Kingdom ranks, including modern and past.
A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries. The rank is that of the most senior operational military commanders, and within NATO's standard rank scale it is designated by the code OF-10. 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. For example: the insignia for the French OF-10 rank maréchal de France contains seven stars; the insignia for the Portuguese marechal contains four gold stars. The stars used on the various Commonwealth of Nations rank insignias are sometimes colloquially referred to as pips, but in fact either are stars of the orders of the Garter, Thistle or Bath or are Eversleigh stars, depending on the wearer's original regiment or corps, and are used in combination with other heraldic items, such as batons, crowns, swords or maple leaves.
Major general is a "two-star" rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank was also briefly used by the Royal Air Force for a year and a half, from its creation in April 1918 until August 1919. In the British Army, a major general is the customary rank for the appointment of division commander. In the Royal Marines, the Commandant General holds at least the rank of major general.
Brigadier (Brig) is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. Brigadier is the superior rank to colonel, and subordinate to major-general. It corresponds to the rank of brigadier general in many other nations.
General is the second-highest rank, and the highest active rank, of the Australian Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of general; it is also considered a four-star rank.
Major general is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of major general. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank. A major general commands a division or the equivalent.
Lieutenant General is a senior rank in the Bangladesh Army. It is the second-highest active rank of the Bangladesh Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. It is also considered a 3 star rank. Till 2007, it was the highest rank in the Bangladesh Armed Forces as all chiefs of army staff held this rank and navy and air chiefs were of two-star ranks.
General is the highest attainable and full general rank of the Sri Lankan Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of general; it is also considered a four-star rank.
General is the highest rank achievable by serving officers of the Nigerian Army. It ranks above lieutenant-general and is subordinate to the rank of field marshal, which is only awarded as an honorary rank to the incumbent president of Nigeria in his capacity as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. The rank of general is a four-star rank. It is equivalent to a full admiral in the Nigerian Navy or an air chief marshal in the Nigerian Air Force.
Major General is a senior rank in the Bangladesh Army. It is the third-highest active rank of the Bangladesh Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of major general. It is also considered a 2 star rank.
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