Commander is a rank used in many navies and some air forces but is very rarely used as a rank in armies (except in special forces where it designates the team leader). The title (originally "master and commander") originated in the 18th century to describe naval officers who commanded ships of war too large to be commanded by a Lieutenant but too small to warrant the assignment of a post-captain. In practice, these were usually unrated sloops-of-war of no more than 20 guns. The Royal Navy shortened "master and commander" to "commander" in 1794; however, the term "master and commander" remained (unofficially) in common parlance for several years.[1] A corresponding rank in some navies is frigate captain. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank has been assigned the NATO rank code of OF-4.
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Insignia of a Royal Navy commander
A commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is identical in description to a commander in the British Royal Navy. RAN chaplains who are Division 1, 2 and 3 (of 5 divisions) have the equivalent rank standing of commanders. This means that to officers and NCOs below the rank of commander, major or squadron leader, the chaplain is a commander. To those officers ranked higher than commander, the chaplain is subordinate. Although this equivalency exists, RAN chaplains who are Division 1, 2 and 3 do not actually wear the rank of commander, and they hold no command privilege.
Royal Air Force
Since the British Royal Air Force's middle-ranking officers' designations are modelled after the Royal Navy's, the term wing commander is used as a rank and is equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the army or commander in the navy. The rank is above squadron leader and below group captain.In the now defunct Royal Naval Air Service, which amalgamated with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force in 1918, pilots held appointments as well as their normal Royal Navy ranks, and wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. Flight commander wore a star above a lieutenant's two rank stripes, squadron commander wore two stars above two rank stripes (less than eight years' seniority) or two-and-a-half rank stripes (over eight years seniority), and wing commander wore three rank stripes. The rank stripes had the usual Royal Navy curl, and were surmounted by an eagle.
Main article: Commander (Canada)
United States
Main article: Commander (United States)
The corresponding rank in the Polish Navy is Komandor porucznik.
Commander as a military appointment
British Army
In the British Army, the term "commander" is officially applied to the non-commissioned officer in charge of a section (section commander), vehicle (vehicle commander) or gun (gun commander), to the subaltern or captain commanding a platoon (platoon commander), or to the brigadier commanding a brigade (brigade commander). Other officers commanding units are usually referred to as the officer commanding (OC), commanding officer (CO), general officer commanding (GOC), or general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-C), depending on rank and position, although the term "commander" may be applied to them informally.In the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry commander is a rank equivalent to Major.
New Zealand Army
The usage is similar to the United States Army, with the term "commander" usually applying to very senior officers only, typically at divisional level (major general).Spanish Armed Forces and Guardia Civil
In the Spanish Army, the Spanish Air Force and the Marine Infantry, the term commander is the literal translation of "comandante", the Spanish equivalent of a Commonwealth major. The Guardia Civil shares the Army ranks, and the officer commanding a house-garrison (usually a NCO or a lieutenant, depending on the size) is addressed as the "comandante de puesto" (post commander).United States Army
In the United States Army, the term "commander" is officially applied to the commanding officer of army units; hence, there are company commanders, battalion commanders, brigade commanders, and so forth. At the highest levels of U.S. military command structure, "commander" also refers to what used to be called commander-in-chief, or CINC, until October 24, 2002, although the term CINC is still used in casual speech.United States Air Force
In the Air Force, the term "commander" (abbreviated "CC" in office symbols, i.e. "OG/CC" for "operations group commander") is officially applied to the commanding officer of an Air Force unit; hence, there are flight commanders, squadron commanders, group commanders, wing commanders, and so forth. In rank, a flight commander is typically a lieutanant or captain, a squadron commander is typically a major or lieutenant colonel, a group commander is typically a colonel, and a wing commander is typically a senior colonel or a brigadier general.An "aircraft commander" is also designated for all flights of United States Air Force aircraft. This individual must be a pilot and an officer that has graduated from an formal aircraft commander course and is designated on flight orders by the unit commander for that particular flight. This individual is in command of all military personnel on the aircraft regardless of rank (even individuals that out-rank the aircraft commander).
Thanks God on 1st Oct 2010
ReplyDeleteArtikel yg menarik & membuatku bangga menjadi seorang Commander.
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