 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2014) |
New Zealand military ranks are largely based on those of the United Kingdom. The three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) have their own rank structure, with a rank equivalency that allows seamless interoperability between the services. All three services form part of the New Zealand Defence Force.
 Navy |  Army |  Air Force | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral of the Fleet | Field Marshal | Marshal of the Air Force | King Charles III is the only current Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the RNZAF. |
| Vice admiral (VADM) | Lieutenant general (LTGEN) | Air marshal (AM) | Rank held by the current Chief of Defence Force; therefore only one of the services will have this rank at any one time. It is the Highest obtainable rank of New Zealand Defence Force personnel. |
| Rear admiral (RADM) | Major general (MAJGEN) | Air vice-marshal (AVM) | Held by the Vice Chief of Defence Force, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, and the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force. Other individuals holding this rank would be in specialised (United Nations or other coalition) postings. |
| Commodore (CDRE) | Brigadier (BRIG) | Air commodore (AIRCDRE) | |
| Captain (CAPT) | Colonel (COL) (Chaplain Class I) | Group captain (GPCAPT) (Chaplain Class I) | |
| Commander (CDR) | Lieutenant colonel (LTCOL) (Chaplain Class II) | Wing commander (WGCDR) (Chaplain Class II) | |
| Lieutenant commander (LT CDR) | Major (MAJ) (Chaplain Class III) | Squadron leader (SQNLDR) (Chaplain Class III) | |
| Lieutenant (LT) | Captain (CAPT) (Chaplain Class IV) | Flight lieutenant (FLTLT) (Chaplain Class IV) | |
| Sub lieutenant (SLT) | Lieutenant (LT) | Flying officer (FGOFF) | |
| Ensign (ENS) | Second lieutenant (2LT) | Pilot officer (PLTOFF) | The Army and Air Force’s first recognised commissioned rank. |
| Midshipman (MID) | Officer cadet (OCDT) | Officer cadet (OCDT) | The rank of Midshipman is recognised as a commissioned rank, however, the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army and Air Force is not, and is used only for the purposes of training. |
Notes: Unlike other nations, Lieutenant is pronounced “left-tenant”
The rank insignia of Commissioned Officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Royal New Zealand Navy [1] |   |   |   |   |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Admiral of the fleet [2] | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | Commodore | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander | Lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Ensign | |||||||||||||||
 New Zealand Army [1] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Field marshal | Lieutenant-general | Major-general | Brigadier | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Major | Captain | Lieutenant | Second lieutenant | |||||||||||||||
 Royal New Zealand Air Force [1] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Marshal of the RNZAF | Air marshal | Air vice-marshal | Air commodore | Group captain | Wing commander | Squadron leader | Flight lieutenant | Flying officer | Pilot officer | |||||||||||||||
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Student officer | |
|---|---|---|
| Royal New Zealand Navy |  | |
| Midshipman | ||
| Royal New Zealand Air Force |  | |
| Officer cadet | ||
 Navy | Army | Air force | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrant Officer (WO) | Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) | Warrant Officer (W/O) | The Warrant Officer of the Navy (WON), Sergeant Major of The Army (SMA), Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOAF), Warrant Officer Defence Force (WODF), And Army Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) hold this rank. |
| Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) | Company Sergeant Majors (CSMs), and Battery Sergeant Majors (BSMs) hold this rank. The Air Force and Navy have no Equivalent to this rank. The Air Force did have an equivalent up until it was phased out sometime during the 80s/90s. | ||
| Chief Petty Officer (CPO) | Staff Sergeant (SSGT) | Flight Sergeant (F/S) | |
| Petty Officer (PO) | Sergeant (SGT) | Sergeant (SGT) | |
| Leading Hand (LDH) | Bombardier/Corporal (BDR/CPL) | Corporal (CPL) | Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Bombardier (BDR) in place of Corporal. |
| Able rate (ABR) | Lance Bombardier/Lance Corporal (LBDR/LCPL) | Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Lance Bombardier (L/BDR) in place of Lance Corporal | |
| Able rate (ABR) | Leading Aircraftman (LAC) | Able's and LAC's are not considered NCO's and these ranks are normally awarded after completing trade training. | |
| Ordinary rate (ORT) | Gunner (GNR) / Trooper (TPR) / Sapper (SPR) / Signaller (SIG) / Private (PTE) / Craftsman RNZEME | Aircraftman (AC) | In the Army, an individual's trade title is sometimes interchanged with the rank of Private. |
Note: Naval other rank personnel are referred to by both their rank and trade. Thus a sailor employed as a chef would generally hold the rank of ordinary chef (OCH), with a few exceptions. A Warrant Officer with a trade of weapon technician would hold the rank of Warrant Officer Weapon Technician (WOWT).
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal New Zealand Navy [1] |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant officer | Chief petty officer | Petty officer | Leading hand | Able rate | Ordinary rate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand Army [1] |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 2 | Staff sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Lance corporal | Private (or equivalent) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Royal New Zealand Air Force [1] |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant Officer | Flight Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Leading Aircraftman | Aircraftman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A non-commissioned officer is defined as:
Officers of the New Zealand Defence Force are commissioned by the Governor-General of New Zealand on behalf of the monarch of New Zealand, King Charles III. See also Officer (armed forces). Salutes rendered to officers by junior officers and enlisted personnel are indirect salutes to the monarch, based on the officer holding the monarch's authority.
Appointments to the most senior ranks (those above the rank held by the chief of the defence force, usually lieutenant general or equivalent) are ceremonial, for the head of state and members of the royal family.
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned officer ranks, the most senior of the non-commissioned officer (NCO) ranks, or in a separate category of their own. Warrant officer ranks are especially prominent in the militaries of Commonwealth nations and the United States.
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.
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services.
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.
A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer.
Senior Chief Petty Officer(SCPO) is an enlisted rank in the navies of some countries.
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers.
Military ranks and rank insignia of Norway were changed June 1, 2016, with the reintroduction of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps, and the abolishment of the one-tier officer system in place since 1975.
Chief Warrant officer is a senior warrant officer rank, used in many countries.
Modern Russian military ranks trace their roots to the Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great. Most of the rank names were borrowed from existing German/Prussian, French, English, Dutch, and Polish ranks upon the formation of the Russian regular army in the late 17th century.
Officer candidate or officer aspirant (OA) is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an officer. More often than not, an officer candidate was a civilian who applied to join the military directly as an officer. Officer candidates are, therefore, not considered of the same status as enlisted personnel.
The South African National Defence Force's rank system is largely based on the British system, with the Air Force sharing the Army rank titles.
The Ranks of the Imperial Japanese Navy were the rank insignia of the Imperial Japanese Navy, used from its creation in 1868, until its dissolution in 1945 following the Surrender of Japan in World War II. The ranks were inspired by the ranks of the Royal Navy.
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.
In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer and chief warrant officer are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest officer grade of O‑1. This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks, equivalent to the U.S. Armed Forces grades of E‑8 and E‑9.
The Australian Defence Force's (ADF) ranks of officers and enlisted personnel in each of its three service branches of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) inherited their rank structures from their British counterparts. The insignia used to identify these ranks are also generally similar to those used in the British Armed Forces.
The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC) is the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) position overall in the United States Armed Forces. The SEAC is appointed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve as a spokesperson to address the issues of enlisted personnel to the highest positions in the Department of Defense. As such, the SEAC is the primary enlisted advisor to the chairman, and serves at the pleasure of the secretary of defense. The SEAC's exact duties vary, depending on the chairman, though the SEAC generally devotes much of their time traveling throughout the Department of Defense, to observe training and communicating to service members and their families. The SEAC's normal term of assignment runs concurrently with the chairman, but an incumbent may be reappointed to serve longer. The first member to hold this post was William Gainey. The current SEAC is Troy E. Black, USMC who assumed the duties on 3 November 2023.
A warrant officer (WO) in the British Armed Forces is a member of the highest-ranking group of non-commissioned ranks, holding the King's Warrant, which is signed by the Secretary of State for Defence.
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.