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Comparative military ranks
Armies,
air forces
(non-Commonwealth),
space forces		 Navies,
coast guard		 Air forces
(Commonwealth system)
Flag 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
Senior commissioned officers
Colonel Captain Group captain
Lieutenant colonel Commander Wing commander
Major or
commandant		 Lieutenant
commander		 Squadron leader
Junior commissioned officers
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 or
specialist		 Leading seaman Corporal or leading aircraftman
Private or
gunner or
trooper or
sapper		 Seaman Aircraftman or
airman or
aviator

Major is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank above captain in armies and air forces, and one rank below lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the senior officer ranks.[1]

Background

Etymologically, the word stems from the Latin word major meaning "greater".[2] The rank can be traced back to the rank of sergeant major general, which was shortened to sergeant major, and subsequently shortened to major.[3]

When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including 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.

Links to major ranks by country

Alphabetically sorted by name of country:

Insignia

Army insignia

Insignia of air force majors

Insignia of naval infantry majors

Insignia of majors of other services

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Majors.
  1. ^ "Army Major". Military-Ranks. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  2. ^ Cipra, Dave (24 May 1985). "A History of Ranks & Titles – Part Five: The Landlubbers". Commandant's Bulletin. 11: 19.
  3. ^ Cipra, Dave (7 June 1985). "A History of Ranks & Titles – Final episode: The Landlubbers". Commandant's Bulletin. 12: 13–16.
  4. ^ "Postos do Exército". faa.ao (in Portuguese). Angolan Army. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Ranks". Government of Botswana. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Loi organique N°1/ 04 du 20 février 2017 portant Missions, Organisation, Composition, Instruction, Conditions de service et Fonctionnement de la Force de Défense Nationale du Burundi" (PDF). fdnb.bi/ (in French). Government of Burundi. p. 45. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Patente". fa.gov.cv (in Portuguese). Cape Verdean Armed Forces. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. ^ "KDF Ranks". mod.go.ke. Ministry of Defence - Kenya. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Ranks in the Army". Lesotho Defence Force. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Defense Act of 2008" (PDF). 3 September 2008. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Government Notice" (PDF). Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia. Vol. 4547. 20 August 2010. pp. 99–102. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  12. ^ Smaldone, Joseph P. (1992). "National Security". In Metz, Helen Chapin (ed.). Nigeria: a country study. Area Handbook (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. pp. 296–297. LCCN 92009026. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  13. ^ "RDF Insignia". mod.gov.rw. Government of the Republic of Rwanda. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Rank structure". spdf.sc. Seychelles People's Defence Forces. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Uniform: Rank insignia". army.mil.za. Department of Defence (South Africa). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces Act" (PDF). The Uganda Gazette. Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation. CXII (46): 1851–1854. 18 September 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. ^ Ehrenreich, Frederick (1983). "National Security". In Nelson, Harold D. (ed.). Zimbabwe: a Country Study. Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 267. LCCN 83-11946. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
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