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Polish Armed Forces |
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Branches |
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History |
Timeline Wars |
Personnel |
Senior officers Rank insignia Awards Oaths |
Equipment |
Land Forces Navy |
This article presents the military ranks of the entire Polish Armed Forces as well as the rank insignia used today. The system of rank insignia is a direct descendant of various systems used throughout history by the Polish Army. Some of the grades trace their name back to the Middle Ages, for instance the rank of chorąży literally means a flag bearer or an Ensign.
Names of Polish ranks are often of foreign origin, like the ones introduced by the 17th-century mercenaries serving for the Polish Crown. These include the rank of kapral, which is a derivative of the Italian caporale - much like the English equivalent of corporal.
Most rank titles are cognates to the ones in English, with some exceptions. Notably colonel's literal meaning is regimental-leader, likewise plutonowy means platoon-leader. Also, the title equivalent to petty officer is identical to the word for boatswain, so a Bosman may or may not be a bosman.
Until World War II, each of the branches of the Land Forces used a set of different names for the same grades. For instance a sergeant was called sierżant in the infantry, ogniomistrz (literally master of fire) in the artillery and wachmistrz (from German Wachtmeister, or Master of the Guards) in the cavalry. This is similar to the German army calling a cavalry officer which is equivalent to Hauptmann a Rittmeister
Modern Polish military practices were heavily influenced by Prussian/German and Russian traditions, as most founding officers after 1918 independence were veterans of those respective armies.
The Polish language requires the use of a prior honorific before stating the addressee's rank e.g. 'Panie Kapitanie...' (Sir Captain...). This is directly equivalent to French practice where the possessive Mon is pre-pended to the addressee's rank. During the communist period use of the formal 'Pan' (Sir) was frowned upon and 'Obywatel' (Citizen) (as in: Obywatelu Kapitanie!) was used. This has reverted to prior style in the post-communist era.
It is customary to include other titles when referring to an officer in writing. This can lead to some interesting abbreviations. For example, a Lt. Col. in the airforce by the name Nowak who is a pilot and has an MSc in engineering would be written ppłk pil. mgr inż. Nowak (LtCol plt MEng Nowak).
Uniquely, Polish forces use a two-fingered version of the salute, and the saluting custom does not allow saluting with the fingers to the head without having headgear on (cap/beret or helmet).
The rank insignia of commissioned officers.
NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF(D) | Student officer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marszałek Polski | Generał | Generał broni | Generał dywizji | Generał brygady | Pułkownik | Podpułkownik | Major | Kapitan | Porucznik | Podporucznik | Podchorąży | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Generał brygady | Pułkownik | Podpułkownik | Major | Kapitan | Porucznik | Podporucznik | Podchorąży | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marszałek Polski | Generał | Generał broni | Generał dywizji | Generał brygady | Pułkownik | Podpułkownik | Major | Kapitan | Porucznik | Podporucznik | Podchorąży | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Marszałek Polski | Admirał | Admirał floty | Wiceadmirał | Kontradmirał | Komandor | Komandor porucznik | Komandor podporucznik | Kapitan marynarki | Porucznik marynarki | Podporucznik marynarki | Podchorąży |
The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
NATO code | OR-9 | OR-5 | OR-3 | ||
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chorąży sztabowy | młodszy chorąży sztabowy | starszy sierżant sztabowy | sierżant sztabowy | starszy plutonowy | |
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chorąży sztabowy | młodszy chorąży sztabowy | starszy sierżant sztabowy | sierżant sztabowy | starszy plutonowy | |
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chorąży sztabowy marynarki | młodszy chorąży sztabowy marynarki | starszy bosman sztabowy | bosman sztabowy | starszy bosmanmat |
Until 2004 the ranks of chorąży (OR-9 and OR-8) constituted a separate group, roughly corresponding to U.S. Warrant Officers. On July 1, 2004, the number of these ranks was reduced and they were included in the group of non-commissioned ranks.
On January 1, 2014, all reserve NCOs, holders of the rank of chorąży sztabowy / chorąży sztabowy marynarki and młodszy chorąży sztabowy / młodszy chorąży sztabowy marynarki were promoted to the rank of starszy chorąży sztabowy / starszy chorąży sztabowy marynarki; holders of the rank of starszy sierżant sztabowy / starszy bosman sztabowy and sierżant sztabowy / bosman sztabowy were promoted to the rank of młodszy chorąży / młodszy chorąży marynarki; and holders of the rank of starszy plutonowy / starszy bosmanmat were promoted to the rank of sierżant / bosman.
Thus the ranks discontinued on July 1, 2004, were officially abolished in the Polish Armed Forces.
Maat is a naval rank, of German origin, used by a number of countries. The term is derived from the low German māt (comrade). Via the Dutch language, the word became a nautical term and described the assistant to a deck officer. Since the second half of the 17th century Maate were the lowest class of non-commissioned officers aboard a warship.
Standard-bearer is a military rank in Poland, Ukraine and some neighboring countries. A chorąży was once a knight who bore an ensign, the emblem of an armed troops, a voivodship, a land, a duchy, or a kingdom. This function later evolved into a non-hereditary noble title.
The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either the lowest or second lowest officer rank.
Commissioned officers' rank comparison chart of all land forces of NATO member states.
This page lists the enlisted ranks and insignia of NATO member armies. For the comparison chart of the commissioned officers, see Ranks and insignia of NATO armies officers.
Each officer rank in the navy of a NATO country may be compared with the ranks used by any military service in other NATO countries, under a standardized NATO rank scale. This is useful, for instance, in establishing seniority amongst officers serving alongside each other within multinational command structures.
The following table lists the ranks and insignia of officers in NATO air forces.
This table shows the ranks and insignia of NCOs and Seaman in the navies of member countries of NATO. NATO maintains a "standard rank scale" in an attempt to match every member country's military rank to corresponding ranks used by the other members. The rank categories were established in the document STANAG 2116, formally titled NATO Codes for Grades of Military Personnel.
Podporuchik is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English-speaking countries.
Corporal first class is a military rank in use by many militaries and is usually a non-commissioned officer.
Rank comparison chart of all navies of European states.
Rank comparison chart of air forces non-commissioned officers and other personnel of European states.
Rank comparison chart of all navies of European states. Some European countries do not have naval forces, either because they are landlocked, such as Austria, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Luxembourg, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Slovakia, San Marino and the Vatican, or naval duties provided by another state such as Monaco.
Police ranks of Poland - ranks of police officers denoting the position of a given officer in the police hierarchy in Poland.
Rank comparison chart of all armies and land forces of the European Union member states.
Rank comparison chart of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and enlisted personnel for all armies and land forces of the European Union member states.
Rank comparison chart of all navies of the European Union member states.
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.
Rank comparison chart of all air forces of the European Union member states.
Rank comparison chart of air forces non-commissioned officers and other personnel of the European Union member states.