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79-473: 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. In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervisory, or other specialist duties as part of the staff of a British Army regiment . As such they held seniority over sergeants who were members of a battalion or company , and were paid correspondingly increased wages. Their seniority

158-460: A captain . A Greek cavalry ( hippikon ) regiment was called a hipparchia and was commanded by an epihipparch . The unit was split into two and led by two hipparchos or hipparch , but Spartan cavalry was led by a hipparmostes . A hippotoxotès was a mounted archer. A Greek cavalry company was led by a tetrarchès or tetrarch . The rank and file of the military in most of the Greek city states

237-582: A commission ; they are trained or training as leaders and hold command positions. Officers are further generally separated into four levels: Officers who typically command units or formations that are expected to operate independently for extended periods of time (i.e., brigades and larger, or flotillas or squadrons of ships), are referred to variously as general officers (in armies, marines, and some air forces), flag officers (in navies and coast guards), or air officers (in some Commonwealth air forces). General-officer ranks typically include (from

316-410: A dimoiria was a half file and a dimoirites was a half-file leader. Another name for the half file was a hèmilochion with a hèmilochitès being a half-file leader. Different types of units, however, were divided differently and therefore their leaders had different titles. For example, under a numbering system by tens, a dekas or dekania was a unit of ten led by a dekarchos , a hekatontarchia

395-419: A private . The private was a man who signed a private contract with the company commander, offering his services in return for pay. The money was raised through taxation; those yeomen ( smallholding peasants) who did not fulfill their annual 40-day militia service paid a tax that funded professional soldiers recruited from the yeomanry. This money was handed to the company commanders from the royal treasury, with

474-413: A regiment " ( syntagma ) and was therefore like a modern colonel . Below him was the tagmatarches , a commanding officer of a tagma (near to the modern battalion ). The rank was roughly equivalent to the legatus of a Roman legion . Next was the lokhagos , an officer who led an infantry unit called a lokhos that consisted of roughly a hundred men, much the same as in a modern company led by

553-406: A leader at the head of each column (or file) and a secondary leader in the middle so that the back rows could move off to the sides if more frontage was needed. A tetrarchia was a unit of four files and a tetrarchès or tetrarch was a commander of four files; a dilochia was a double file and a dilochitès was a double-file leader; a lochos was a single file and a lochagos was a file leader;

632-504: A lieutenant colonel as a commanding officer and a major as an executive officer . Modern military services recognize three broad categories of personnel. These are codified in the Geneva Conventions , which distinguish officers , non-commissioned officers , and enlisted men . Apart from conscripted personnel one can distinguish: Officers are distinguished from other military members (or an officer in training ) by holding

711-581: A new, which is more adapted to other NATO members. In 1975, all of the Norwegian military branches abolished the system of using non-commissioned officers. Now, however, Norway is reintroducing the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps, allowing people to become officers without graduating from a military academy or having a university degree. The rank of staff sergeant is used by the Armed Forces of

790-537: A senior supervisor. The rank is used, for example, in most Canadian police services. Other national police services (for example, Cyprus) have a corresponding rank of senior sergeant. In the United Kingdom, a few police forces formerly used the rank of station sergeant , with the same rank insignia as an army staff sergeant. The Hong Kong Police Force still uses this rank. In the Philippines, as of 8 February 2019,

869-527: A strict hierarchy—a king was conceived of as first among equals , not a monarch as later or ancient societies understood the concept, and all nobles were theoretically equals (hence " peers "). A nobleman was obligated to bring a set number of troops when asked by his liege-lord, a king or merely a higher-ranked noble who had obtained his service by the gift of land . The troops' lord retained at least nominal control over them—many post-classical military planning sessions involved negotiating each lord's role in

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948-447: A title borne by the officer sent with military powers to represent the king in certain provinces. A lieutenant du roi was sometimes known as a lieutenant général to distinguish him from lieutenants subordinate to mere captains. The sergeant acting as staff officer to the captain general was known as the sergeant major general . This was eventually shortened to major general , while captain general began to be addressed, depending on

1027-602: Is a non-commissioned officer (NCO). Unlike the Marine Corps, U.S. Army staff sergeants are not considered senior NCOs (senior NCOs of the Army begin with sergeant first class, equivalent to the Marines' gunnery sergeant). Staff sergeants are generally placed in charge of squads , but can also act as platoon sergeants in the absence of a sergeant first class. In support units, staff sergeants ordinarily hold headquarters positions because of

1106-467: Is another nickname though this is only used for the company chief clerk (in some instances the chief clerk role can be filled by another non-commissioned rank (but not warrant officer) and still be referred to as "Chief"). A staff sergeant ranks above sergeant and below warrant officer class 2 . In the pre-Unification Canadian Army , the rank of staff sergeant existed until 1968 when the Unification of

1185-688: Is assumed to derive from the original rank of troop sergeant major , or as "Sir" by subordinates. Flight sergeant and chief technician are the Royal Air Force equivalents. Chief petty officer is the equivalent in the Royal Navy and colour sergeant in the Royal Marines . Staff sergeant ( SSG ) is the E-6 rank in the United States Army , just above sergeant and below sergeant first class , and

1264-471: Is derived from the 17th-century French peloton , meaning a small ball or small detachment of men, which came from pelote , a ball. The commissioned officer carrying the (infantry) company's flag was the ensign . The word ensign was derived from the Latin word insignia . In cavalry companies the equivalent rank was cornet . In English usage, these ranks were merged into the single rank of second lieutenant in

1343-471: Is given a NATO code of OR-7. The insignia is the monarch's crown above three downward pointing chevrons. Staff sergeants can also hold other appointments, such as company quartermaster sergeant , and are usually known by that appointment if held. The equivalent rank in infantry regiments is colour sergeant , and holders are known by that title no matter what their appointment. In the Household Cavalry

1422-479: Is one Singapore coat of arms and three pointed-down chevrons below it. In the Singapore Police Force , the rank of staff sergeant is currently being phased out with the newly overhauled "unified police rank structure" which allows a direct-entry sergeant to be eligible for emplacement to the rank of Inspector without a degree. In the past, the rank of staff sergeant is above the rank of sergeant, and below

1501-568: The Albanian People's Army 1966–1991 ), but they have had to re-establish them after encountering operational difficulties in command and control . From 501 BC, the Athenians annually elected ten individuals to the rank of strategos , one for each of the ten "tribes" that had been created with the founding of the democracy . Strategos means "army leader" and is usually translated as " general ". Originally these generals worked together with

1580-567: The National Civil Defence Cadet Corps (NCDCC), the rank of staff sergeant is above sergeant, and below Station Inspector and Warrant Officer respectively. The rank of staff sergeant generally is awarded to cadets when they are in Secondary Four, before they pass out. NPCC and NCDCC staff sergeants wear a rank insignia of one Singapore coat of arms and three pointed-down chevrons. The letters 'NPCC' and 'NCDCC' are located below

1659-910: The Royal Canadian Navy , Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force into the Canadian Armed Forces occurred. Post-unification, the Canadian Armed Forces replaced the rank with that of Warrant Officer . The rank is used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other police services throughout Canada. In the Norwegian Defence Forces, the tasks and responsibilities of the staff sergeant ( Norwegian : Stabssersjant ) are not clear; quite recently, in January 2016, Norway replaced their old rank system, and implemented

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1738-498: The military branch , as general of the infantry , general of the cavalry or general of the artillery , and these ones, over time, were shortened to simply general . This is the reason a major outranks a lieutenant, but a lieutenant general outranks a major general. In modern times recruits attending basic training, also referred to as boot camp by some branches, are instructed in the hierarchical structure of military rank. Many new enlisted civilians find it difficult to understand

1817-419: The sergeant was dropped from both titles since both ranks were used for commissioned officers. This gave rise to the modern ranks of major and major general. The full title of sergeant major fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment. Regiments were later split into battalions with

1896-406: The 19th century. Not all officers received a commission from the king. Certain specialists were granted a warrant, certifying their expertise as craftsmen. These warrant officers assisted the commissioned officers but ranked above the non-commissioned officers (NCOs). They received their authority from superior officers rather than the king. The first NCOs were the armed servants ( men-at-arms ) of

1975-491: The 3-days 2-nights Senior Specialists Leaders Course successfully. The rank of staff sergeant is above first sergeant and below master sergeant. Staff sergeants wear a rank insignia of two pointed-up chevrons, one Singapore coat of arms and three pointed-down chevrons, with the letters 'NCC' located below the insignia to differentiate NCC cadets from SAF personnel. In the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) and

2054-865: The Philippines . It is a non-commissioned officer rank currently used by Philippine Army , Philippine Air Force , and the Philippine Marine Corps (under the Philippine Navy ). It is a rank positioned above sergeant and below the technical sergeant . A staff sergeant ( SSG ) in the Singapore Armed Forces ranks above first sergeant and below master sergeant . It is the second most senior specialist rank. Staff sergeants are addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", but never "Sergeant". Staff sergeants may be appointed as company sergeant major if they are due for promotion to master sergeant. They are usually addressed as "CSM" in camp, although in

2133-459: The USMC was created in 1923 to coincide with the U.S. Army's ranks. Until the end of World War II, the insignia of platoon sergeant was three chevrons and a rocker (worn by "line" NCO grades), with staff sergeant having a horizontal stripe (worn by "staff" NCO grades) instead of a rocker below the chevrons. After the separate rank of platoon sergeant was eliminated, the staff sergeant rank switched over to

2212-651: The United States) or general of the army (mainly the United States because "marshal" is used as a peace officer's designation), fleet admiral ( U.S. Navy ), Marshal of the Royal Air Force , or other national air force. These ranks have often been discontinued, such as in Germany and Canada, or limited to wartime or honorific promotion, such as in the United Kingdom and the United States. In various countries, particularly

2291-431: The United States, these may be referred to as "star ranks" for the number of stars worn on some rank insignia: typically one-star for brigadier general or equivalent with the addition of a star for each subsequent rank. In the United States, five stars has been the highest rank regularly attainable (excluding the marines and coast guard , which have traditionally served as branches of the navy in times of war and thus under

2370-402: The aristocracy, assigned to command, organize and train the militia units raised for battle. After years of commanding a squad, an NCO could be promoted to sergeant , the highest NCO rank. While a sergeant might have commanded a squad upon promotion, he usually became a staff officer. While commissioned staff officers assisted their commander with personnel, intelligence, operations and logistics,

2449-459: The battle of Lützen 1632). It was introduced to overcome the normal army structure, consisting of regiments. The so-called " brigada " was a mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally artillery , designated for a special task. The size of such brigada was a reinforced company up to two regiments. The brigada was a 17th-century form of the modern "task force". In some armies "brigadier general" has been shortened to " brigadier ". Around

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2528-476: The civil war. Military command properly so-called was a political office in Rome. A commander needed to be equipped with imperium , a politico-religious concept. The king who possessed it (the rex sacrorum ) was strictly forbidden to have it to avoid a return to the monarchy. In the republic, commanding was confined to consuls or (seldom) to praetors , or in cases of necessity a dictator . Proconsuls , after

2607-494: The cohorts by one of their three manipulum's centurions; the most senior cohort-commanding centurions was called primus pilus . The ranks of centurions in the individual cohorts were, in descending order, pilus prior , pilus posterior , princeps prior , princeps posterior , hastatus prior , and hastatus posterior . Individual soldiers were referred to as soldiers ( milites ) or legionaries ( legionarii ). See Mongol military tactics and organization . There were no ranks in

2686-416: The coming battle—and each lord was allowed to leave after a predetermined amount of time had passed. The command structure of armies was generally loose and varied considerably. Typically, the king and high-ranking lords would call out for all lords to gather their troops for a campaign. They would appoint a renowned noble to organize the assembling forces, the marshal . The term field marshal came from

2765-497: The command of a fleet admiral). There also exists the specialty ranks of General of the Armies of the United States and Admiral of the Navy which at their inception were considered senior four star officers but came to be considered six-star rank after the creation of five star officers. To date only one officer has held a six star rank in his lifetime, John J. Pershing . George Washington

2844-400: The company commanders using the money to recruit the troops. As armies grew larger, composed of multiple companies, one captain was granted general (overall) authority over the field armies by the king. (National armies were the armies of the kings. Field armies were armies raised by the king to enter the battle field in preparation for major battles.) In French history, lieutenant du roi was

2923-464: The company was the lieutenant . Lieutenant was derived from the French language ; the lieu meaning "place" as in a position; and tenant meaning "holding" as in "holding a position"; thus a "lieutenant" is somebody who holds a position in the absence of their superior. When he was not assisting the captain, the lieutenant commanded a unit called a platoon , particularly a more specialized platoon. The word

3002-409: The different tasks associated with running a ship were delegated to different subordinates. Specifically, the kybernètès was the helmsman, the keleustēs managed the rowing speed, and the trièraulès was the flute player who maintained the strike rate for the oarsmen. Following further specialization, the naval strategos was replaced by a nauarchos , a sea officer equating to an admiral . With

3081-476: The duties of a corporal themselves. It was this second function that made armies increasingly regard their lancepesades as a grade of corporal rather than a grade of private. As a result, the rank of lance corporal was derived from combining lancepesade and corporal. As the post-classical came to an end, kings increasingly relied on professional soldiers to fill the bottom ranks of their armies instead of militiamen. Each of these professionals began their careers as

3160-619: The end of the 16th century, companies were grouped into regiments. The officers commissioned to lead these regiments were called " colonels " (column officers). They were first appointed in Spain by King Ferdinand II of Aragon where they were also known as " coronellos " (crown officers) since they were appointed by the Crown. Thus the English pronunciation of the word colonel . The first colonels were captains granted command of their regiments by commission of

3239-428: The equivalent rank is staff corporal . British staff sergeants are never referred to or addressed as "Sergeant", which would be reducing their rank, but are referred to and addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff" ("Staff Jones", for instance) or by their appointment or its abbreviation. Quartermaster sergeants are often addressed as "Q". In most cavalry regiments, staff sergeants are addressed as "Sergeant Major", which

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3318-520: The establishment of the office, were used. In imperial times, each legion was commanded by the emperor, who was technically either consul or proconsul. The commander could appoint a deputy, a so-called legate ( legatus ). The association of " legatus " with "legion" is folk etymology , as the meaning of legatus is "proxy" or "envoy". Legates were typically drawn from the Roman Senate for three-year terms. The political nature of high military command

3397-446: The generals determined the battle plan by majority vote. Particular assignments might have been given to individual generals; inevitably there was a regular division of responsibilities. The rank that was subordinate to a top general was a taxiarchos or taxiarhos , something akin to the modern brigadier . In Sparta , however, the title was " polemarchos ". Below this was the syntagmatarchis , which can be translated as "leader of

3476-668: The insignia so as to differentiate NPCC and NCDCC cadets from Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel respectively. In the St John Brigade (SJB), the rank of staff sergeant (SSG) is above sergeant, and below senior staff sergeant. Staff sergeants in SJB wear a rank insignia of one St John coat of arms and three pointed-down chevrons. In the British Army , staff sergeant ( SSgt or formerly S/Sgt ) ranks above sergeant and below warrant officer class 2 . The rank

3555-440: The king. The lieutenants of the colonel were the lieutenant colonels . In the 17th century, the sergeant of the colonel was the sergeant major . These were field officers, third in command of their regiments (after their colonels and lieutenant colonels), with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeants major (although on a smaller scale). The older position became known as sergeant major general to distinguish it. Over time,

3634-465: The legion), each consisting of three manipula , each of them of two centuries (a rather small company in modern terms), each consisting of between 60 and 160 men. Each century was led by a centurion ( centurio , traditionally translated as captain ), who was assisted by a number of junior officers, such as an optio . Centuries were further broken into ten contubernia of eight soldiers each. The manipula were commanded by one of their two centurions,

3713-431: The marshal then leading the army on the march, and being in charge of organizing camps and logistics. Tactics for an upcoming battle were often decided by councils of war among the nobles leading the largest forces. Outside of campaigns, the high constable had authority over the local constables, and commanders of the garrisons of major castles. The high constable might have authority in the army due to his role of head of

3792-475: The modern sense of a hierarchy of titles, although the army was organized into a hierarchical command. The organization of the army was based on the decimal system, employed by Modun Chanyu . The army was built upon a squad of ten ( aravt ) led by an appointed chief. Ten of these would then compose a company of a hundred ( zuut ), also led by an appointed chief. The next unit was a regiment of a thousand ( myangat ) led by an appointed noyan . The largest organic unit

3871-445: The most senior) general , lieutenant general , major general , and brigadier general , although there are many variations like division general or (air-, ground-) force general. Flag-officer ranks, named after the traditional practice of showing the presence of such an officer with a flag on a ship and often land, typically include (from the most senior) admiral , vice admiral and rear admiral . In some navies, such as Canada's ,

3950-570: The new rank of staff sergeant. Staff sergeant, as did the ranks it combined/replaced, then ranked above sergeant but below technical sergeant/first sergeant (which, at the time, were both in the same pay grade). At that time, sergeants served as squad or section leaders, platoon guides , and assistants to platoon commanders (the position of platoon sergeant, nor a separate rank for the position, did not yet exist), and included several formerly separate ranks such as mess sergeant, company supply sergeant, and stable sergeant, etc. In 1940, staff sergeant became

4029-437: The number of slots available for them in these units. Staff sergeants are typically assigned as a squad leader or company operations non-commissioned officer in charge at the company level, but may also hold other positions depending on the type of unit. Staff sergeants are referred to as "Sergeant" except in certain training environments and schools. The NATO code is OR-6. In the early days of World War II flying sergeants with

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4108-471: The old polemarchos ("warlord") but over time the latter figure was absorbed into the generalship: each of the ten generals would rotate as polemarch for one day, and during this day his vote would serve as tie-breaker if necessary. The ten generals were equal to one another; there was no hierarchy among them. However, a basic form of democracy was in effect: for example, at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC,

4187-521: The past they were referred to as "Encik", which is now used to address only warrant officers. The rank insignia consists of two chevrons pointing up and three chevrons pointing down, with the Singapore coat of arms in the middle. In the Singapore Prison Service , the rank of staff sergeant (SSGT) is above the rank of sergeant, and is below the rank of Chief Warder (1). The rank insignia of SSGT

4266-410: The people"; in addition, they must not either be confused with the "military tribunes with consular authority", who in early republican times could replace the consuls. The third highest officer of a legion, above the angusticlavian tribunes, was the praefectus castrorum . He, too, would have a colonel's rank in modern armies, yet he differed much from the tribunes in that his office was not part of

4345-467: The post-classical army was the company , a band of soldiers assigned (or raised) by a vassal lord on behalf of his lord (in later times the king himself). The vassal lord in command of the company was a commissioned officer with the rank of captain . Captain was derived from the Late Latin word capitaneus (meaning "head man" or chief ). The commissioned officer assisting the captain with command of

4424-539: The rank of commodore is a flag rank . In the United Kingdom and most other Commonwealth air forces, air-officer ranks usually include air chief marshal , air marshal , air vice-marshal and air commodore . For some air forces, however, such as those of Canada , United States and many other air forces, general officer rank titles are used. In the case of the United States Air Force , that service

4503-519: The rank of senior staff sergeant; with the new rank structure being introduced, the rank and insignia of staff sergeant is being phased out, and being replaced with three grades of sergeant, namely, sergeant (1), sergeant (2), and sergeant (3), before being promoted directly to senior staff sergeant. However, all three grades of sergeants don the same three-chevrons insignia. In the National Cadet Corps , staff sergeants are cadets who have passed

4582-634: The rank of staff sergeant is currently being used by the Philippine National Police as they adopt a new ranking classification, eliminating confusion of old ranks. The rank stands above the Police Corporal and below the Police Master sergeant . A number of other organisations, basing their structure on military ranks, have historically used, or still use, the rank of staff sergeant. The rank of staff sergeant was, for example, phased out of

4661-694: The rank of staff sergeant were qualified enlisted pilots before the rank of flight officer was introduced in September 1942. The rank of staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, along with technical sergeant (renamed sergeant first class in 1948) and master sergeant , was created by Congress after the First World War. In 1920 the Army combined several company/battery/troop level "staff" NCO ranks, including color sergeant, supply sergeant, radio sergeant, eleven grades of sergeant first class, three grades of sergeant, two grades of master gunner, and assistant band leader into

4740-475: The rank structure of St John Ambulance in the early 1990s. Military rank Uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms of a number of countries . Ranking systems have been known for most of military history to be advantageous for military operations , in particular with regards to logistics, command, and coordination. As time went on and military operations became larger and more complex, more ranks were created and

4819-481: The rank title of rifle platoon sergeants and in 1942 rifle squad leaders became staff sergeants, with platoon sergeants then being promoted to technical sergeants. Staff sergeant ( SSgt ) is E-6 rank (NATO code OR-6) in the United States Marine Corps (USMC), ranking above sergeant and below gunnery sergeant . This grade is normally achieved after 6 years in service. The rank of staff sergeant in

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4898-433: The rather administrative cursus , but normally filled by former centurions. (Modern armies have a similar distinction on a lower scale—i.e., between commissioned and non-commissioned officers.) The fighting men in the legion were formed into "ranks", rows of men who fought as a unit. Under Marius's new system, legions were divided into ten cohorts ( cohortes ) (roughly equivalent to battalions and immediately subject to

4977-456: The reforms by Marius . Comparisons to modern ranks, however, can only be loose because the Roman army's command structure was very different from the organizational structure of its modern counterparts, which arose from the early modern, Thirty Years' War mercenary companies, rather than from the writings of fourth-century Roman writer Vegetius and Caesar 's commentaries on his conquest of Gaul and

5056-472: The regular cavalry. As the European and Asian Middle Ages came to an end, the rank structure of post-classical armies became more formalized. The top officers were known as commissioned officers because their rank came from a royal commission. Army commissions were usually reserved for those of high stature—the aristocracy of mainland Europe and the aristocracy and gentry of Great Britain. The basic unit of

5135-472: The rise of Macedonia under Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great , the Greek military became professional, tactics became more sophisticated and additional levels of ranking developed. Foot soldiers were organized into heavy infantry phalanxes called phalangites . These were among the first troops ever to be drilled, and they fought packed in a close rectangular formation, typically eight men deep, with

5214-652: The rocker insignia and staff sergeants held the platoon sergeant's billet. The rank of cadet staff sergeant ( CSSG or C/SSgt ) is used by many cadet organisations around the world, including the Civil Air Patrol in the United States, and the Army Cadet Force and the Army Section of the Combined Cadet Force in the United Kingdom. The rank of staff sergeant is used in some police forces to indicate

5293-474: The sergeant was a jack of all trades, concerning himself with all aspects of administration to maintain the enlisted men serving under his commander. Over time, sergeants were differentiated into many ranks as various levels of sergeants were used by the commanders of various levels of units. A corporal commanded a squad . Squad derived from the Italian word for a "square" or "block" of soldiers. In fact, corporal

5372-450: The structure of general staff ranks as stated before, it becomes somewhat complicated to understand when applying basic rationale. As armies grew bigger, heraldry and unit identification remained primarily a matter of the regiment. Brigades headed by brigadier generals were the units invented as a tactical unit by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus II ("Gustav II Adolf", who was killed at

5451-563: The systems of ranking became more complex. Rank is not only used to designate leadership, but to establish pay-grade as well. As rank increases, pay-grade follows, but so does the amount of responsibility. In modern armed forces, the use of ranks is almost universal. Communist states have, on several occasions, abolished the use of ranks (e.g., the Soviet Red Army 1918–1935, the Chinese People's Liberation Army 1965–1988, and

5530-407: The term: of ranks major , lieutenant colonel , colonel , and with administrative duties. They did not command a formation of their own. The term military tribune is even sometimes translated into English as "colonel"—most notably by the late classicist Robert Graves in his Claudius novels and his translation of Suetonius ' Twelve Caesars —to avoid confusion with the political " tribunes of

5609-511: Was a baivarabam and was commanded by a baivarapatis . The Greeks called such masses of troops a myrias or myriad . Among mounted troops, an asabam was a cavalry unit led by an asapatis . Historians have discovered the existence of the following ranks in Parthian and Sassanian armies: Post-classical militaries did not have a unified rank structure; while the feudal lords were in some ways equivalent to modern officers, they did not have

5688-436: Was a nobleman who was headed for the senate. The latter is called laticlavian tribune ( tribunus laticlavius ) and was second in command. If in modern divisions the deputy commander is a brigadier general , the laticlavian tribune can perhaps be translated with this rank, though he commanded no formation of his own. The other tribunes are called tribuni angusticlavii and are equivalent to staff officers in both senses of

5767-418: Was a ten thousand man unit ( tumen ) also led by an appointed noyan . The army of ancient Persia consisted of manageable military groupings under the individual commands. Starting at the bottom, a unit of 10 was called a dathabam and was led by a dathapatis . A unit of 100 men was a satabam led by a satapatis . A unit of 1,000 was a hazarabam and was commanded by a hazarapatis . A unit of 10,000

5846-460: Was a unit of one hundred led by a hekatontarchos and a khiliostys or khiliarchia was a unit of a thousand led by a khiliarchos . The cavalry, for which Alexander became most famous (in a military sense), grew more varied. There were heavy cavalry and wing cavalry ( ilè ) units, the latter commanded by an ilarchos . The use of formalized ranks came into widespread use with the Roman legions after

5925-493: Was composed of ordinary citizens. Heavily armed foot soldiers were called hoplitès or hoplites and a hoplomachos was a drill or weapons instructor. Once Athens became a naval power, the top generals of the land armies had authority over the naval fleets as well. Under them, each warship was commanded by a trièrarchos or trierarch , a word which originally meant " trireme officer" but persisted when other types of vessels came into use. Moreover, as in modern navies,

6004-430: Was derived from the Italian caporal de squadra (head of the squad). Corporals were assisted by lancepesades . Lancepesades were veteran soldiers; lancepesade was derived from the Italian lancia spezzata meaning broken spear—the broken spear being a metaphor for combat experience, where such an occurrence was likely. The first lancepesades were simply experienced privates; who either assisted their corporal or performed

6083-441: Was even reflected here, in that legions were always subordinate to the governor , and only the second and further legions stationed in a province had their own legatus legionis . The real commanders and the legates together were, in modern terms, the general officers . Immediately beneath the commander (or his legate) were six military tribunes ( tribuni militum ), five of whom were young men of equestrian rank and one of whom

6162-473: Was indicated by a crown worn above the three sergeant's stripes on their uniform rank markings. In the Australian Army and Cadets , the rank of staff sergeant is being phased out. It was usually held by the company quartermaster sergeant or the holders of other administrative roles. Staff sergeants are always addressed as "Staff Sergeant" or "Staff", never as "Sergeant", as it degrades their rank. "Chief"

6241-408: Was once part of the U.S. Army and evolved as a separate service in 1947, carrying over its extant officer rank structure. Brazil and Argentina use a system of general officer ranks based on the term brigadier . In some forces, there may be one or more superior ranks to the common examples, above, that are given distinguishing titles, such as field marshal (most armies of the world, notably excluding

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