Military ranks of Austria

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The Military ranks of Austria (or Ranks of the Bundesheer) are the military insignia used by the Austrian Armed Forces. Austria is a landlocked country and has no navy.

Contents

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank groupGeneral / flag officersSenior officersJunior officers
Cap [1] GenLt OF8-Tellerkappe AT.jpg GenLt OF8-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Genmjr OF7-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Bgdr OF6-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Obst OF5-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Obstlt OF4-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Mjr OF3-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Hptm OF2-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Olt OF1a-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Lt OF1b-Tellerkappe AT.jpg
Service uniform [1] Bundesheer - Rank insignia - General.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Generalleutnant.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Generalmajor.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Brigadier.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Oberst.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Oberstleutnant.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Major.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Hauptmann.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Oberleutnant.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Leutnant.png
Field uniform [1] Austria OF-9.svg Austria OF-8.svg Austria OF-7.svg Austria OF-6.svg Austria-OF-5.svg Austria-OF-4.svg Austria-OF-3.svg Austria-OF-2.svg Austria-OF-1b.svg Austria-OF-1a.svg
General Generalleutnant Generalmajor Brigadier Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann Oberleutnant Leutnant

Official translation [1] General Lieutenant general Major general Brigadier general Colonel Lieutenant colonel Major Captain First lieutenant Second lieutenant
Equivalent
NATO code [a]
OF-9OF-8OF-7OF-6OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1

Student officer ranks

Rank groupStudent officer
Cap [1] Fhr OF1c-Tellerkappe AT.jpg
Service uniform [1] Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Fahnrich.png
Field uniform [1] Austria-OF-(D).svg
Fähnrich

Official translation [1] Officer cadet

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank groupNon-commissioned officerEnlisted
Cap [1] Vzlt OR9a-Tellerkappe AT.jpg OStv OR9b-Tellerkappe AT.jpg OstWm OR8-Tellerkappe AT.jpg StWm OR7-Tellerkappe AT.jpg OWm OR6-Tellerkappe AT.gif Wm OR5- Tellerkappe AT.jpg Zgf OR4-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Kpl OR3-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Gfr OR2-Tellerkappe AT.jpg Rekr OR1-Tellerkappe AT.jpg
Service uniform [1] Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Vizeleutnant.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Offiziersstellvertreter.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Oberstabswachtmeister.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Stabswachtmeister.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Oberwachtmeister.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Wachtmeister.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Zugsfuhrer.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Korporal.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Gefreiter.png Bundesheer - Rank insignia - Rekrut.png
Field uniform [1] Austria-OR-9a.svg Austria-OR-9b.svg Austria-OR-8.svg Austria-OR-7.svg Austria-OR-6.svg Austria-OR-5.svg Austria-OR-4.svg Austria-OR-3.svg Austria-OR-2.svg Austria-OR-1.svg
Vizeleutnant Offiziersstellvertreter Oberstabswachtmeister Stabswachtmeister Oberwachtmeister Wachtmeister Zugsführer Korporal Gefreiter Rekrut

Official translation [1] Warrant officer I Warrant officer II Warrant officer III Staff sergeant Master sergeant Sergeant Master corporal Corporal Lance corporal Private
Equivalent
NATO code [a]
OR-9OR-8OR-7OR-6OR-5OR-4OR-3OR-2OR-1

Special case military gymnasium

Pupils (German : Zöglinge) of the Military gymnasium wear black shoulder rank insignias on their dress uniform. On the duty suits black mounting loops have to be worn. However, the particular insignia has to be in line with actual school level. The appropriate school year is symbolised by a small golden strip.

Possible appointments in correlation to rank or grade

Rank groupMilitary rankPossible appointments/ assignments
Military staff (without any rank or grade) Rekrut
( Wehrmann until 1998) [2]
Generic infantryman
Charges Gefreiter Generic infantryman
Korporal Assistant squad leader
Zugsführer
Unteroffiziere Wachtmeister Squad leader
Oberwachtmeister
Stabsunteroffiziere Stabswachtmeister
Oberstabswachtmeister
Offiziersstellvertreter Platoon leader
Vizeleutnant
Officers Fähnrich Military academy graduate and officer candidate (OA)
Leutnant Platoon leader
Oberleutnant Company executive officer
Hauptmann Company commander
Major
  • Battalion commander (BN CDR)
  • Headquarters company commander
Oberstleutnant Battalion commander
Oberst
General officers Brigadier Brigade commander
Generalmajor
(formerly Divisionär )
  • Chief of Staff in the Ministry of Defence
  • Chief of Operational Staff in the Ministry of Defence
  • Commanding general of the Air Force
Generalleutnant
(formerly Korpskommandant )
  • Commanding general of the Operational Forces
General
  • Chief of the General Staff of the Austrian Bundesheer

Additions

To the rank or grade might be (among others) added addendums as follows.

AbbreviationLong version
AArzt (en: physician)
aDaußer Dienst (off duty)
dGdes Generalstabsdienstes (of the general staff service)
dhmfDdes höheren militärfachlichen Dienstes (of the higher military specialised service)
dhmtDdes höheren militärtechnischen Dienstes (of the higher military technical service)
dIntDdes Intendanzdienstes (of the commissariat service)
dResder Reserve (of the reserve)
iRin Ruhe (retired)

e.g.: MjrA (major physician), Lt aD (lieutenant off duty), ObstdG (colonel of the general staff service), HptmdhmtD (captain of the higher military technical service), ObstltdIntD (lieutenant colonel of the commissariat service), Olt dRes (first lieutenant of the reserve), Bgdr iR (general brigadier retired).

Historic ranks

Commissioned officer ranks

Rank groupGeneral / flag officersSenior officersJunior officers
1918–1920 [3] Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg
Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann / Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant
1920–1923 [4] Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg Blank.svg
General Generalmajor / Obersbrigadier Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Stabshauptmann / Stabsrittmeister [b] Hauptmann / Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant
1923–1933 [5] WMacht H OF7 GenLt 1945.svg Blank.svg WMacht H OF6 GenMaj 1945.svg Insignia Wehrmacht Heer Colonel 1.svg Insignia Wehrmacht Heer LtColonel 1.svg Insignia Wehrmacht Heer Major 1.svg OF-1c Oberleutnant Pz.png WMacht H OF2 Hptm Inf.svg WMacht H OF1a OLt Inf.svg WMacht H OF1b Lt Prop.svg
General der Waffengattung [c] Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Stabshauptmann / Stabsrittmeister Hauptmann / Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant
1933–1938 [6] Kuk GenBranch 1918.svg Kuk Feldmarschall-Lt 1918.svg Kuk GenMaj 1918.svg Kuk Oberst.svg Kuk Oberstleutnant.svg Kuk Major.svg Kuk Hauptmann.svg Kuk Oberleutnant.svg Kuk Leutnant.svg
General der Waffengattung Feldmarschall-Leutnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann / Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 While Austria is not a member of NATO, it does have an official conversion. [1]
  2. Introduced in 1923.
  3. General until 1929.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 bundesheer.
  2. "915 der Beilagen zu den Stenographischen Protokollen des Nationalrates XX. GP" (PDF). Österreichisches Parlament. 10 December 1997. p. 51. Retrieved 19 November 2010. Im Hinblick auf die geplante Öffnung des Bundesheeres für freiwillige militärische Dienstleistungen von Frauen soll der niederste militärische Dienstgrad statt derzeit "Wehrmann" künftig einheitlich für beide Geschlechter mit dem Begriff "Rekrut" bezeichnet werden.
  3. "Austria: Uniforms and Insignia." *Vedomstva Uniforma*. Accessed November 8, 2024. (http://www.vedomstva-uniforma.ru/mundir6/austria/index.html).
  4. "Austrian Armed Forces (1920-1923)". UniformInsignia.net. UniformInsignia.net. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  5. "Austrian Armed Forces (1923-1933)". UniformInsignia.net. UniformInsignia.net. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  6. Handbook 1937, Table VI–VII.