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Common anglophone military ranks
Navies Armies Air forces
Officers
Admiral of
the fleet
Marshal or
Field marshal
Marshal of
the air force
Admiral General Air chief marshal
Vice admiral Lieutenant general Air marshal
Rear admiral Major general Air vice-marshal
Commodore Brigadier Air commodore
Captain Colonel Group captain
Commander Lieutenant colonel Wing commander
Lieutenant
commander
Major or
Commandant
Squadron leader
Lieutenant Captain Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant Lieutenant Flying officer
Ensign Second
lieutenant
Pilot officer
Midshipman Officer cadet Officer cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Warrant officer Sergeant major or
Warrant officer
Warrant officer
Petty officer Sergeant Sergeant
Leading seaman Corporal Corporal
Seaman Private Aircraftman

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. In some militaries, notably France and Ireland, the rank of major is referred to as commandant, while in others it is known as captain-major.

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.Template:Disputed inline 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.

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. 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.

Links to major ranks by country[]

Alphabetically sorted by name of country:

  • Major (Brazil)
  • Major (Canada)
  • Majuri (Finland)
  • Major (Germany)
  • Tagmatarchis (Greece; Ταγματάρχης, abbr. Τχης)
  • Major (India)
  • Majoras (Lithuania)
  • Majoor (The Netherlands)
  • Major (Pakistan)
  • Major (Poland)
  • Major (Sri Lanka)
  • Major (Sweden)
  • Major (United Kingdom)
  • Major (United States)

Insignia[]

Insignia of army majors[]

Insignia of air force majors[]

Insignia of naval infantry majors[]

Ranks equivalent to major by country[]

Alphabetically sorted by name of country or sovereign state

  • Jagran (جګړن) (Afghanistan)
  • China
    • 少校 (Shao xiao) (PR China)
    • 少校 (Shaoxiao) (Republic of China/Taiwan)
  • Bojnik (Croatia)
  • Ra'Ed (رائد) (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)
  • Commandant (France)
  • Germany:
    • Sturmbannführer (Schutzstaffel and paramilitary organisations of Nazi 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)
  • 소령 (South Korea)
  • Comandante (Spain)
  • Binbaşı (Turkey)
  • Thiếu tá (Vietnam)

See also[]

  • List of comparative military ranks

References[]

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