Australian_Defence_Force_ranks_and_insignia

Australian Defence Force ranks

Australian Defence Force ranks

Ranks of officers and enlisted personnel

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 following tables show the "equivalent rank and classifications" for the three services, as defined in the ADF Pay and Conditions Manual.[1] "Equivalent rank" means the corresponding rank set out under Regulation 8 of the Defence Force Regulations 1952.[2]

Commissioned officer ranks

More information NATOcode, Aus code ...

Warrant Officer ranks

More information NATO code, Aus/ code ...
Note that the most senior Warrant Officer in each of the three services is appointed and promoted to either Warrant Officer of the Navy WO-N, Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army RSM-A, or Warrant Officer of the Air Force WOFF-AF, as appropriate. Although these are positional appointments, these three members hold the rank of Warrant Officer in their respective services and each wear special insignia, different from the rank insignia worn by other warrant officers. The RAN and the RAAF have two warrant officer ranks, the army has three. The soldier appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army (RSM-A) holds the unique Army rank of Warrant Officer (introduced in 1991 and senior to WO1). The Army rank of WO2 is the equivalent of the RAN and the RAAF's most senior NCOs, (i.e. Chief Petty Officer and Flight Sergeant).[1] As Army WO2s hold a Warrant, while the RAN CPO and RAAF FSGT do not, WO2s are addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am" by junior ranks, which extends to OCDTs and SCDTs.

Non-Commissioned Officer ranks

More information NATO code, Aus code ...

Other ranks

For ranks used by some corps in place of private, see Australian Army enlisted rank insignia.
More information NATOCode, Aus Code ...
Private proficient is not an ADF rank or E-3 equivalent. It is a proficiency point for which a higher rate of salary is provided.

Insignia

Commissioned officers

The rank insignia for commissioned officers for the navy, army and air force respectively.

More information Rank group, General / flag officers ...

Enlisted

The rank insignia for enlisted personnel for the navy, army and air force respectively.

More information Rank group, Senior NCOs ...

History of Royal Australian Navy enlisted ranks

The historical changes to rank insignia for enlisted personnel of the navy.[7]

More information Rank group, Senior NCOs ...

History of Australian Army enlisted ranks

More information Rank group, Senior NCOs ...

Note: Staff sergeants still exist, but no one is promoted into the role.

See also

Notes

  1. O-11 ranks - admiral of the fleet, field marshal and marshal of the RAAF - may only be used in wartime and for honorary appointments.
  2. O-10 ranks - The Chief of the Defence Force is the sole O-10 ranked appointment.
  3. O-9 ranks - The Vice chief of the Defence Force, chief of joint operations, chief of the capability development executive and chiefs of the Navy, Army and Air Force comprise the six O-9 ranked appointments.
  4. Chaplains:
    • O-3 ranks - Chaplains are commissioned officers without rank, however they are accorded the rank of captain (O-3) for reasons of protocol, ceremonial occasions and for saluting purposes.
    • O-4/5 ranks - The more senior division 2 and 3 chaplains are accorded the rank of major (O-4) and lieutenant colonel (O-5), respectively.
    • O-6 ranks - The three principal chaplains representing the three major Christian denominations: Catholic, Anglican, and nonconformist Protestant, are equivalent to a colonel (O-6).
    • O-7 ranks - The heads of the various churches and religions officially associated to the ADF's Religious Advisory Committee, such as the Anglican and Catholic bishops of the military, are equivalent to a brigadier (O-7).
  5. Without prejudice to existing holders of the rank, the Army has ceased to promote soldiers to the rank of staff sergeant.[4]

References

  1. [1]
    "ADF Pay and Conditions Manual (PACMAN)". People Strategies and Policy (AL13 ed.). Department of Defence, Australian Government. November 2009. p. 1.
  2. [2]
    Defence Force Regulations 1952.
  3. [3]
    Badges of Rank and Special Insignia. Commonwealth of Australia - Department of Defence. September 2003. pp. 2–3.
  4. [4]
    "Australian Army Rank Structure, Other Ranks". army.gov.au. Australian Army. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  5. [5]
    "Badges of rank" (PDF). defence.gov.au. Department of Defence (Australia). Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Ranks | Air Force". airforce.gov.au. Royal Australian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 Oct 2023. Retrieved 10 Nov 2023.
  7. [7]
    "A History of Australian Navy Health Sailor Uniforms and Ranks (Part 3)". Retrieved 23 February 2021.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Australian_Defence_Force_ranks_and_insignia, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.