Ensign (rank)

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Ensign (/ˈɛnsən/;^[1] Late Middle English, from Old French enseigne (12c.) "mark, symbol, signal; flag, standard, pennant", from Latin insignia (plural) is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank acquired the name. This rank has generally been replaced in army ranks by second lieutenant.^[2] Ensigns were generally the lowest ranking commissioned officer, except where the rank of subaltern existed.^[3] In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, لواء, liwa', derives from the command of units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a unit's ensign, and is today the equivalent of a major general.

In Thomas Venn's 1672 Military and Maritime Discipline in Three Books, the duties of ensigns are to include not only carrying the color but assisting the captain and lieutenant of a company and in their absence, have their authority.^[4]

"Ensign" is enseigne in French, and chorąży in Polish, each of which derives from a term for a flag. The Spanish alférez and Portuguese alferes is a junior officer rank below lieutenant associated with carrying the flag, and so is often translated as "ensign". Unlike the rank in other languages, its etymology has nothing to do with flags, but instead comes from the Arabic for "cavalier" or "knight". Fähnrich in German comes from an older German military title, Fahnenträger (flag bearer); however, it is an officer cadet rank, not a junior officer – the same applies to the Dutch , which has a parallel etymology. In the German Landsknecht armies (c. 1480), the equivalent rank of cornet existed for those men who carried the troop standard (known as a "cornet"). It is still used in the artillery and cavalry units of the Netherlands (kornet).

The NATO rank code is OF-1 (junior).

Argentina[]

In Argentina, the rank of ensign ("alférez" in Spanish) is used by both the air force and the gendarmerie. However, they are not equivalent, for while in the Air Force it's the lowest commissioned officer rank, in the National Gendarmerie is the second lowest (the lowest being "Sub-Alférez", which could roughly be translated into English as "Junior Ensign").

The equivalent ranks in the Army and Navy are "Subteniente" ("Junior" or "Second lieutenant") and "Guardiamarina" ("Ensign"), respectively.

France and Canada[]

Enseigne de vaisseau de première classe

Enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe

During the Ancien Régime in France, as in other countries, the ensign (enseigne) was the banner of an infantry regiment.^[5] As in other countries, the name began to be used for the officers who carried the ensign. It was renamed sub-lieutenant (sous-lieutenant) at the end of the 18th century. The Navy used a rank of ship-of-the-line ensign (enseigne de vaisseau), which was the first officer rank. It was briefly renamed ship-of-the-line sub-lieutenant (sous-lieutenant de vaisseau) in the end of the 18th century, but its original name was soon restored.

Nowadays, the rank is still used in the Marine Nationale: Ship-of-the-line ensign (enseigne de vaisseau) is the name of the two lowest officer ranks (which are distinguished from one another as "first class", equal to an army lieutenant, and "second class", equal to an army sub-lieutenant.) Both ranks of ensign use the style lieutenant.

French-speaking Canadian Naval officers also use the terms of enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe and de première classe as the French term for acting sub-lieutenant and sub-lieutenant respectively. However, French-Canadian sub-lieutenants use the short form of enseigne instead of lieutenant.

The rank "ensign" is also used to refer to second lieutenants (NATO OF-1) in household regiments of the Canadian Army.

Austria and Germany[]

German Army and Air Force rank insignia

Austrian Army rank insignia

Fähnrich which has a parallel etymology to ensign, containing the corresponding German word stem of "flag" in it, is a German and an Austrian officer cadet rank. The word Fähnrich comes from an older German military title, Fahnenträger (literally: "flag carrier"), and first became a distinct military rank on 1 January 1899.

The German Fähnrich is a non-commissioned officer promoted from the rank of Fahnenjunker (German Army) or Seekadett (German Navy). Fähnrich is equivalent to Feldwebel (staff sergeant), but with additional responsibilities as an officer cadet. If successful, he may be promoted to Oberfähnrich (German Army, equivalent to Hauptfeldwebel, or sergeant first class) or to Oberfähnrich zur See (German Navy), before being made an officer. The German rank Fähnrich should not be translated into English as "ensign" to avoid the possible misconception that this would be an officer's rank, and the English navy rank "ensign" should not be translated as "Fähnrich" but as "Leutnant zur See", which is the German equivalent.

The cornet, originally equal in rank to the Fähnrich in the 17th and 18th century, was the lowest grade of commissioned officers.

Estonia[]

In Estonian Defence Forces the equivalent of “ensign” is lipnik. It is used mainly as a rank for reserve officers.

New Zealand[]

Shoulder insignia of an RNZN ensign

The Royal New Zealand Navy, unlike the Royal Navy – whose uniforms, insignia, and traditions it inherited – created the ensign grade to equal the lowest commissioned RNZAF grade of pilot officer and the New Zealand Army grade of second lieutenant. It ranks above the grade of midshipman. Like the grade of pilot officer, it uses a single thin strip of braid.

The fact that the Royal Navy has no real equivalent to the lowest commissioned Royal Air Force and British Army grades was one of the driving factors behind the RNZN's decision to create the ensign grade. Another was that, at the time, New Zealand was actively involved with the United States Armed Forces, so it made sense to balance the rank system out with that used by the United States Navy.

Norway[]

Norwegian Navy fenrik insignia

Norwegian Army and Home Guard fenrik insignia

The Royal Norwegian Navy, the Norwegian Army and the Royal Norwegian Air Force's equivalent of ensign is fenrik (the rank below lieutenant). Historically (before 1975), it was referred to as second lieutenant (Norwegian: sekondløytnant), while the rank of lieutenant was called premier lieutenant.

In the past, the rank is known to temporarily be given to sergeants, indicating skills and performance beyond their rank, in contract based operative service (UN, NATO). This is highly uncommon and the rank is reverted after the contract period ends. Today, a fenrik serves as a NATO (OF-1) second lieutenant.

After the Norway's NCO corps was discontinued on 1 July 1975, and the senior NCOs currently serving were given officer ranks. NCOs ranking as oversersjant were given the officer rank of fenrik, NCOs ranking as stabssersjant were given the rank of lieutenant, and – in accordance with "Hærordningen av 1. januar 1977" – the most senior of the NCOs ranking as stabsserjant were given the rank of captain. This was reversed in 2016, when a regular NCO corps was reintroduced with a separation of NCOs and the officer corps that is more aligned with the UK and US models.

The rank insignia is worn on the sleeves (navy dress uniform only), on the shoulders of service uniforms, and also on the chest on some field uniforms. The chest placement was introduced with the M-2000 uniform, which is worn by both noncommissioned ranks and officers in all branches of the Norwegian Defence.

Poland[]

The e.g. Polish Land Forces rank close to ensign is chorąży (chorąży means in Polish a standard-bearer; Polish for "ensign", standard or flag is chorągiew). In Poland, ensign is not an (officer) rank. Chorążys are an NCO equivalent to warrant officer. Before the 2007 reform, soldiers at the rank of chorążys' formed a separate corps Higher NCOs (chorąży corps, korpus chorążych). The different ranks are as follows:

1. Młodszy chorąży (Junior chorąży)
2. Chorąży
3. Starszy chorąży (Senior chorąży)
4. Chorąży sztabowy (Staff chorąży)
5. Starszy chorąży sztabowy (Senior staff chorąży)

Romania[]

The Romanian Navy equivalent of "ensign" is aspirant.

Russia[]

The present-day Russian Army linguistic equivalent is the non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank of praporshchik (Russian: пра́порщик), and the Russian Navy equivalent is mitshman (Russian: ми́чман).

Slovakia and Czech Republic[]

In the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic and Army of the Czech Republic, the equivalent of “ensign” is podporučík.

Sweden[]

In the Swedish Armed Forces, Fänrik is the lowest rank among commissioned officers.

United Kingdom[]

Until 1871, when it was replaced by second lieutenant, ensign was the lowest rank of commissioned officer in infantry regiments of the British Army (except fusilier and rifle regiments, and the Marines, which always used second lieutenant). It was the duty of officers of this rank to carry the colours of the regiment. In the 16th century, "ensign" was corrupted into "ancient", and was used in the two senses of a banner and the bearer of the banner. Today, the term "ensign" is still used by the Foot Guards regiments, for instance during the ceremony of trooping the colour. The equivalent cavalry rank was cornet, also being derived from the name of a banner.

• 

  1856 to 1871 British Ensign's collar rank insignia

United States[]

Army[]

The rank of ensign was established in the U.S. Army by the act of September 29; 1789, (the first act of legislation after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution); each of the eight companies in the Regiment of Infantry was authorized one captain, one lieutenant and one ensign.^[6]: 560 With the passage of the act of April 30, 1790, the number of companies in the regiment of infantry was increased to 12 and each of the companies was authorized the same number of officers.^[6]: 560 The act of March 3, 1791 added a second regiment to the Army strength, doubling the total number of ensigns.^[6]: 561

With the organization of the Legion of the United States authorized by the act of March 5, 1792, ensigns were retained in the companies of infantry and were included in the authorized strength of companies of rifles; in addition, cornets were added to the companies of dragoons.^[6]: 562

The ranks of ensign and cornet were abolished in the United States Army in the Army Organization Act of 1815.^[7]

Navy[]

In the United States Navy, the rank of ensign superseded passed midshipman in 1862. Ensign is the junior commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. This rank is also used in the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. Ensign ranks below lieutenant junior grade, and it is equivalent to a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, the Marine Corps, and the Air Force.

Where a newly commissioned ensign is assigned in the Navy is dependent on status as either an unrestricted line, restricted line, or staff corps officer. For unrestricted line officers, depending on assignment to which warfare community, prospective Surface Warfare Officers (SWO) will spend 22 weeks at Surface Warfare Officer School followed by assignment to a warship for qualification as a SWO.^[8] Prospective Submarine Warfare Officers will attend Naval Nuclear Power School for 26 weeks, followed by Nuclear Power Training Unit (Prototype) for 24 weeks and Submarine Officer Basic Course for 12 weeks before reporting to their first submarine.^[9] Prospective Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers have a 12 to 18 month flight training track to earn their wings, followed by a six to nine-month training track in a Fleet Replacement Squadron before being assigned to fly combat aircraft in a deployable Fleet aviation squadron.^[10] Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) Special Warfare Officers attend a 6-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) course followed by a 4-month SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) course before assignment to a SEAL Team.^[11] Finally, Special Operations Officers, primarily Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) / Diver officers will have a training track similar in length to that of SEAL officers, to include schools for EOD, SCUBA, hard hat diving, airborne (parachutists) and combat arms skills training before assignment to their first operational assignment.

Restricted Line officers, depending on designator, may train, qualify and be assigned as naval intelligence officers, naval cryptographic officers, aircraft maintenance duty officers, meteorologists/oceanographers, information professionals, human resources professionals, public affairs officers, or a host of other specialties.

Still others may become staff corps officers in the Supply Corps, Civil Engineering Corps, Nurse Corps, Medical Service Corps, or be law school students or medical or dental school students in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, Medical Corps or Dental Corps, respectively.

Coast Guard[]

While the Coast Guard does not categorize its officers as unrestricted line, restricted line or staff corps, a similar career sorting and training process also takes place, ranging from those in operational fields such as cuttermen aboard Coast Guard cutters, Naval Aviators in Coast Guard Aviation, specialists in maritime safety and inspections, and a host of other Coast Guard officer career fields.

All ensigns will become branch officers or division officers in their first operational assignments, responsible for leading a group of petty officers and enlisted men in one of the ship's, squadrons, team's or other organization's branches and divisions (for example, engineering, navigation, communications, sensors or weapons aboard a warship, or similar functions in the operations, aircraft maintenance, administrative or safety/NATOPS departments in a flying squadron) while at the same time receiving on-the-job training in leadership, naval systems, programs, and policies from higher-ranking officers and from senior enlisted men and women in the Chief Petty Officer rates.

Navy and Coast Guard ensigns wear collar insignia of a single gold bar and because of this share the nickname "butterbars" with Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps second lieutenants, who wear the same insignia.

Within the U.S. Public Health Service, those wearing the rank of ensign are part of a commissioned officer student training, and extern program (COSTEP), either junior, for those with more than a year remaining of education in a commissionable degree (JRCOSTEP), or senior, for those within one year of graduating with a commissionable degree (SRCOSTEP).^[12] Some officers may hold a permanent rank of ensign based on their experience and education, but then can hold the temporary rank of lieutenant, junior grade.

Note: Pin-on insignia for all U.S. services shown here are incorrectly depicted as U.S. Army / U.S. Air Force second lieutenant insignia; the U.S. Naval Services (U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard), as well as the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, use a gold-colored bar that does not have beveled edges. (See the illustration at Lieutenant (navy)#Rank insignia for correct depiction of non-beveled edge bars.)

In popular culture[]

• Ensign is used as the most junior commissioned officer rank throughout the science fiction universe of Star Trek.^[13]
• Ensign is a junior rank within the Martian Congressional Republic Navy in the TV series The Expanse.
• Ensign is the rank of a female Naval Intelligence operative played by Dina Merrill in the 1959 Jerry Lewis comedy film Don't Give Up the Ship.

Insignia[]

The following are a selection of Ensign rank insignia, attempting to illustrate the range of variation (and similarity) between the insignia.

Australia

Bangladesh

Bulgaria

Canada

France

Denmark

Norway

Georgia(Coast Guard)

Germany

Greece

India

Indonesia

Iran

Navy

Ireland

Italy

Mexico

Pakistan

Poland

Romania

Russia

South Africa

South Korea

Taiwan

Thailand

UK

US

Navy

See also[]

• U.S. Navy officer rank insignia
• Comparative military ranks
• Sub-lieutenant
• Signifer
• Vexillarius

References[]

• Division Officer's Guide. James Stavridis and Robert Girrier. Naval Institute Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59114-799-9.

External links[]

• The Definition of Ensigns – Chapter I.