Sargento mayor ("sergeant major") was a rank immediately below that of maestre de campo in the Spanish tercios of the 16th and 17th centuries. Initially second in rank to a coronel ("colonel") in a colunella , the sargento mayor became second in rank to the maestre de campo after the creation of the tercios in 1534. He took care of the tactical training, security and lodging of the troops of the tercio. He also transmitted the orders of the maestre de campo or the capitán general to subordinate officers.
Initially second in command below Colonel in a coronelía , the Sargento Mayor later came to occupy the position immediately below the Maestre de Campo after the creation of the tercios in 1534 and until 1600. The rank was in charge of teaching tactics, security and lodging of tercio troops. Would also delegate orders from the Maestre de Campo or the Capitán General to lower level officers.
In Argentina, since the 1813 law in which ranks where divided into three groups, Oficiales generales, oficiales jefes y oficiales (general officers, lead officers, and officers), the rank of Sargento Mayor was part Oficiales jefes (lead officers), intermediately above Capitán (and officer) and intermediately below Teniente Coronel (Lieutenant Colonel), with the latter below Coronel (Colonel), from where a promotion lead to the Oficiales Generales (General officers). [1]
In Colombia, Sargento Mayor is the top rank within the sub-officers of Colombia Armed Forces as well as the National Police; the rank is intermediately above Sargento Primero (First Sergeant). In the executive level of the Colombia National Police, it is equivalent to the rank of Comisario. [2] [3] [4] In Colombia's Military Forces there are three levels of Sargento Mayor. [5]
Colonel is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
Alcalde is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town. Alcaldes were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the regidores of the municipal council. The office of the alcalde was signified by a staff of office, which they were to take with them when doing their business. A woman who holds the office is termed an Alcaldesa.
A tercio was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the elite military units of the Spanish Monarchy. They were the essential pieces of the powerful land forces of the Spanish Empire, sometimes also fighting with the navy. The Spanish tercios were a crucial step in the formation of modern European armies, understood as made up of professional volunteers, instead of levies raised for a campaign or hired mercenaries typically used in other European countries of the time.
Maestre de campo was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the capitán general and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council of State, and commanded a tercio. Their powers were similar to those of the old marshals of the Kingdom of Castile: he had the power to administer justice and to regulate the food supply. His personal guard consisted of eight German halberdiers, paid by the king, who accompanied him everywhere. Immediately inferior in the chain of command was the sargento mayor. One of the most famous maestre de campo was Julian Romero, a common soldier who reached the rank of maestre de campo and that brought victory to the Spanish tercios in the battles of San Quintín and Gravelines.
A regidor is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of regedor.
A corregidor was a local administrative and judicial official in Spanish Empire. They were the representatives of the royal jurisdiction over a town and its district.
The Military ranks of Nicaragua are the military insignia used by the Nicaraguan Armed Forces.
The siege of Saint-Omer was a siege in the Thirty Years' War in which a French army under Gaspard III de Coligny, Maréchal de Châtillon, laid siege to the Flemish city of Saint-Omer, defended by a small garrison in command of Lancelot II Schetz, count of Grobbendonck. Despite several initial successes in the capture of the minor forts around Saint-Omer, on the night of 8/9 June a Spanish relief army under Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano surprised Châtillon's troops and established a small fort in the middle of the French lines. An entire army corps under Maréchal de La Force was ordered to move towards Saint-Omer to support Châtillon siege, but on 12 July a further Imperial-Spanish force commanded by Ottavio Piccolomini entered Saint-Omer, resolving the French marshals to withdraw.
The Chilean Gendarmerie, in Spanish Gendarmería de Chile, is the title of Chile's uniformed national prison service military. The title is historic, The service evolved out of Chilean Army units which were given police and prison duties.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (JEMAD) is the highest-ranking military officer in the Spanish Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, the National Defence Council and the National Security Council. It is the fourth military authority of the country after the Monarch, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence because the Secretary of State for Defence and the Under Secretary of Defence do not have military authority.
The Chief of Staff of the Navy or Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy (AJEMA) is the highest-ranking military officer of the Spanish Navy that, under the authority of the Defence Minister, exercises command over the naval branch and, as such, is the principal military advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Minister of Defence, the Secretary of State for Defence, the Under-Secretary of Defence and the National Defence Council.
The Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force (JEMAE) is a four-star general that under the authority of the defence minister exercises command over the Spanish Air and Space Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Minister of Defence, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Under Secretary of Defence. It's also a member of the Council of Chiefs of Staff and a military advisor to the National Defence Council.
The Defence High Command was the principal staff body of the Spanish Armed Forces during the Francoist regime and the Spanish transition to democracy. It operated between 1939 and 1980, and was in charge of coordination between the staffs of the three branches of the Armed Forces.
An alcalde mayor was a regional magistrate in Spain and its territories from, at least, the 14th century to the 19th century. These regional officials had judicial, administrative, military and legislative authority. Their judicial and administrative functions superseded those of an alcalde. Their area of territorial jurisdiction was called an alcaldía mayor. Judicial appeals from the decisions of an alcalde mayor were heard by an audiencia.
General of the Army(Spanish: General de Ejército), also called Army General, is a four-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the Spanish Army. A General of the Army ranks immediately above a Lieutenant general and is equivalent to an Admiral General and a General of the Air. There is no equivalent in the Civil Guard or in the Spanish Navy Marines; in both cases the top rank is Lieutenant General.
General of the Air(Spanish: General del Aire) also called Air General, is a four-star general officer and the second highest possible rank in the Spanish Air Force. A General of the Air ranks immediately above a Lieutenant general and is equivalent to a General of the Army and an Admiral General. There is not equivalent in the Civil Guard or in the Spanish Navy Marines; in both cases the top rank is Lieutenant general.
Teniente a guerra was a title used in times of the Spanish colonial Empire to describe a position exercising duties similar to those exercised by a town or city mayor today (2019). A teniente a guerra was a position that combined the duties of mayor, military lieutenant and justice of the peace.
Alcalde de la Santa Hermandad was a term used in the Spanish colonies in the Americas during the times of the Spanish Empire. The term referred to judicial magistrates named in towns and villages within the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in the Americas whose function was primarily to be informed of infractions committed in rural areas against the established order, so they could be prosecuted. In this capacity, their primary function was to help the militia of a rural region within the jurisdiction of a cabildo. This militia was organized under an institution termed Santa Hermandad. The term of service of an Alcalde de la Santa Hermandad was one year. The position was eliminated around 1835, when the Santa Hermandad force itself was disestablished.
Ignacio Alfaro Arregui was a Spanish military officer who served as Chief of the Defence High Command (Alto Estado Mayor, AEM) between 1978 and 1980, and as President of the Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff (Junta de Jefes de Estado Mayor, JUJEM) between 1978 and 1982. The offices he held made him chief of staff of the Spanish Armed Forces at the time.
Felipe Galarza Sánchez was a Spanish military officer who served as Chief of the Defence High Command (Alto Estado Mayor, AEM), and as President of the Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff (Junta de Jefes de Estado Mayor, JUJEM) between 1977 and 1978. The offices he held made him chief of staff of the Spanish Armed Forces at the time.