Major

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the military rank. For college majors, see Academic major. For use in music, see Major and minor. For other uses, see Major (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Mayor.

hide Comparative military ranks
Armies,
air forces,
space forces		 Navies Air forces
(Commonwealth system)
Commissioned officers
Field marshal or
general of the army or
general of the air force		 Admiral of
the fleet or
grand admiral		 Marshal of the air force
General or
colonel general or
army general		 Admiral or
general admiral		 Air chief marshal
Lieutenant general or
army corps general		 Vice admiral Air marshal
Major general or
divisional general		 Rear admiral or
Counter admiral		 Air vice-marshal
Brigadier or
brigadier general		 Commodore or
flotilla admiral		 Air commodore
Colonel Captain Group captain
Lieutenant colonel Commander Wing commander
Major or
commandant		 Lieutenant
commander		 Squadron leader
Captain Lieutenant Flight lieutenant
Lieutenant or
first lieutenant		 Lieutenant
junior grade or
sub-lieutenant		 Flying officer
Second lieutenant or
junior lieutenant		 Ensign or
midshipman		 Pilot officer
Officer cadet Officer cadet Flight cadet
Non-commissioned officers
Warrant officer or
sergeant major		 Warrant officer or
chief petty officer		 Warrant officer
Sergeant Petty officer Sergeant
Enlisted ranks
Corporal or
bombardier		 Leading seaman Corporal or Leading aircraftman
Private or
gunner or
trooper or
specialist		 Seaman Aircraftman or
airman or
aviator
  • v
  • t

Major is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world.

Background[]

When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank senior to that of an army captain, and one rank subordinate or below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks.[1]

Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers[citation needed] while in other nations, like Germany,[2] majors are often in command of a company.

When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including general-major or major general, denoting a low-level general officer, and sergeant major, denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) of a military unit.[disputed – discuss][citation needed] The term major can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as in pipe-major or drum-major.

Historically, the rank designation develops in English in the 1640s, taken from French majeur, in turn a shortening of sergent-majeur, which at the time designated a higher rank than at present.[citation needed] The term Mayor for the head of a municipal government can also be traced to the same French word.

The rank of major is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures, such as the Pennsylvania State Police, New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, and several others.[citation needed] As with a military major, this rank is most commonly the next rank above captain. The rank is equivalent to an inspector or commander in other large police departments or to the UK rank of superintendent.[citation needed]

Links to major ranks by country[]

Alphabetically sorted by name of country:

Insignia[]

Insignia of army majors.[]

Insignia of air force majors[]

  • Argentina
  • Croatia
  • Denmark
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Mexico
  • Canada
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Sweden
  • United States (also space force)

Insignia of naval infantry majors[]

  • Israel
  • Philippines
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom
    Royal Marines
  • United States Marine Corps
  • Indonesian Marine Corps

Ranks equivalent to major by country[]

Alphabetically sorted by name of country or sovereign state

  • Jagran (جګړن) (Afghanistan)
  • China
    • 少校 (Shao xiao) (Peoples Republic of China/Mainland china)
    • 少校 (Shaoxiao) (Republic of China/Taiwan)
  • Bojnik (Croatia)
  • (رائد) (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)
  • Commandant (France)
  • Germany:
  • Tagmatarchis (Ταγματάρχης) (Greece and Cyprus)
  • Őrnagy (Hungary)
  • Mayor (Indonesia)
  • Sargord (سرگرد) (Iran)
  • Commandant (Ireland)
  • Rav seren (רב סרן) (Israel)
  • 少佐 (Shousa) (Japan)
  • Mejar (Malaysia)
  • Хошууч (Mongolia)
  • 소좌 (North Korea)
  • Magat (Philippines)
  • Mayor (Russia)
  • Major (Serbia)
  • Gaashaanle (Somalia)
  • Shelaqa (Ethiopia)
  • 소령 (South Korea)
  • Comandante (Spain)
  • Binbaşı (Turkey)
  • Ukraine — Майор (Mayor)
  • Thiếu tá (Vietnam)

  • Croatia (Bojnik)

  • Rav seren - army (Israel)

  • Rav seren - air force (Israel)

  • Rav seren - navy (Israel)

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Army Major". Military-Ranks. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  2. ^ https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/cyber-und-informationsraum/aktuelles/der-kompaniechef-major-e-2081430
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