The Swedish Armed Forces is the armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard.
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or reserve officer training corps (ROTC), or officer candidate school (OCS) or officer training school (OTS), after receiving a post-secondary degree.
Sergeant is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, serjeant, is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin serviens, 'one who serves', through the Old French term serjant.
Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. Sergeants Major serve as the senior enlisted advisor to the commander.
The following table lists the ranks and insignia of officers in NATO air forces.
The military ranks of Finland are the military insignia used by the Finnish Defence Forces. The ranks incorporate features from the 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-language communications in Finland, e.g. in Swedish-speaking units of the Finnish Defence Force. The system of ranks in the Swedish Armed Forces is slightly different.
Fänrik is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above sergeant and below lieutenant. In the navy, it ranks above sergeant and below sub-lieutenant. It is equivalent to the specialist officers rank of översergeant. Fänrik means standard-bearer and has been used as a name for the lowest officer rank in the Swedish infantry since the 16th century, with the exception of the years 1835–1914.
Fähnrich is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word Fähnrich comes from an older German military title, Fahnenträger, and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. However, Fähnrich ranks are often incorrectly compared with the rank of ensign, which shares a similar etymology but is a full-fledged commissioned officer rank.
Löjtnant is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above second lieutenant and below captain. In the navy, it ranks above acting sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant. It is equivalent to the specialist officers rank of förvaltare. The rank has been used in Sweden since the Middle Ages.
Kapten is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above lieutenant and below major. In the navy, it ranks above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant commander. It is equivalent to the specialist officers rank of förvaltare. The rank has been used in Sweden since the Middle Ages.
Sergeant is a Swedish (OR6) and Finnish (OR5) military rank above överfurir in Sweden and alikersantti in Finland; and below översergeant in Sweden and ylikersantti in Finland.
Fanjunkare (OR-7) is a Swedish military rank above Översergeant and below Överfanjunkare. The word 'Fanjunkare' is derived from German 'Fahnenjunker', and denotes a standard-bearer, hence 'Colour Sergeant'.
Ylikersantti is a Finnish military rank above kersantti and below vääpeli. The rank was introduced in the Swedish Armed Forces in 2019. It is above sergeant and below fanjunkare. Both sergeant and översergeant are OR6.
Rustmästare is a former Swedish rank that literally means the one responsible for the armory.
Förvaltare is a Swedish military rank (OR-8) for specialist officers above Överfanjunkare and below Regementsförvaltare in the army and Flottiljförvaltare in the air force and is translated to sergeant major. The original military meaning of the word 'Förvaltare' was the same as 'conductor', as in a warrant officer conductor of ordnance stores or quartermaster stores.
The following article lists the historical military ranks used by personnel of the Swedish Armed Forces.
Charge(s) (German: Charge(n); literal: rank(s)) used to be the generic term to the military ranks above the rank group of enlisted personnel in German speaking armies. In the today's Austrian Armed Forces (Österreichisches Bundesheer) it is the designation to the rank group OR2 to OR4, which comprises the ranks Gefreiter, Korporal and Zugsführer.
Underlöjtnant was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of fänrik and cornet. Fänrik was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as underlöjtnant, from 1926 with lower position.
Regementsförvaltare in the Swedish Army and the Swedish Amphibious Corps, and Flottiljförvaltare in the Swedish Navy and the Swedish Air Force is the senior specialist officer rank in the Swedish Armed Forces. The official translation to English of the rank of Regementsförvaltare is "Regimental Sergeant Major"; of Flottiljförvaltare in the Navy, "Chief Warrant Officer", and in the Air Force, "Wing Sergeant Major."
Rank comparison chart of all navies of the European Union member states. Some EU member states do not have naval forces, either because they are landlocked Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg and Slovakia.
