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50-418: Commander is also a generic term for an officer commanding any armed forces unit, for example " platoon commander ", " brigade commander" and " squadron commander". In the police, terms such as " borough commander" and " incident commander " are used. Commander is a rank used in navies , but is very rarely used as a rank in armies . In most armies, the term "commander" is used as a job title. For example, in

100-464: A platoon sergeant . Some special units, such as specific aviation platoons and special forces, require a captain as platoon leader, due to the nature and increased responsibility of such assignments. Platoons normally consist of three or four sections (Commonwealth) or squads (US). The duties and responsibilities of a platoon leader is similar in the armies. Based on the US Army publications, it

150-470: 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

200-577: A wreath . Within the Metropolitan Police Service, the tips of the tipstaves are blue and not red, unlike other forces. Until the abolition of the rank of deputy commander in 1968, however, a commander wore the same badge of rank as a deputy assistant commissioner. In Australia, commander is a rank used by the Victorian, Tasmanian, Western Australian, South Australian, and Australian Federal police forces. The insignia consists of

250-634: A command or unit. Some large police departments and sheriff's offices in the US have a commander rank. Most commonly, this is the next rank above captain. Examples of this include the Chicago Police Department , Los Angeles Police Department , San Francisco Police Department , Portland Police Bureau and Rochester Police Department . In others, such as the Phoenix Police Department and Saint Paul Police Department ,

300-568: A commander rank is the next rank above lieutenant, and is equivalent to captain. In the Northport, Florida's police department, however, commanders are below captains. A commander in the LAPD is equivalent to an inspector in other large US departments (such as the NYPD ); the LAPD rank was originally called inspector as well, but was changed in 1974 to commander. The Metropolitan Police Department of

350-436: A crown over three bath stars in a triangular formation, equivalent to a brigadier in the army. In all four forces, it is junior to the rank of assistant commissioner , and senior to the rank of chief superintendent , with the exception of Western Australia and Victoria where it is senior to the rank of superintendent . In New South Wales the position of commander is instated to officers (usually superintendents) in charge of

400-587: A gold oak leaf collar device, similar to the ones worn by majors in the United States Air Force and United States Army , and identical to that worn by majors in the United States Marine Corps . In all dress uniforms, they wear sleeve braid or shoulder boards bearing a single gold quarter-inch stripe between two gold half-inch strips (nominal size). Above or inboard of the stripes, they wear their speciality insignia (i.e.,

450-564: A lieutenant but too small to warrant the assignment of a post-captain and (before about 1770) a sailing master ; the commanding officer served as his own master. 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. The equivalent American rank master commandant remained in use until changed to commander in 1838. A corresponding rank in some navies

500-410: A lieutenant of eight years or more wore two stripes with a thinner one in between, and ranked with a major. This distinction was ostensibly abolished when the rank of lieutenant commander was introduced, although promotion to the latter rank for officers on a full career commission (FCC) was automatic following accumulation of eight years' seniority as a lieutenant. Automatic promotion officially ceased in

550-648: A lieutenant was called a "lieutenant commanding" or "lieutenant commandant" in the United States Navy , and a "lieutenant in command", "lieutenant and commander", or "senior lieutenant" in the Royal Navy . The USN settled on "lieutenant commander" in 1862 and made it a distinct rank. The RN followed suit in March 1914. In the Royal Canadian Navy , the rank of lieutenant-commander (LCdr) is

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600-511: A navy blue/black background. The top stripe has the ubiquitous loop used in all RN officer rank insignia, except for the rank of Midshipman. The RAF follows this pattern with its equivalent rank of squadron leader . Having fewer officer ranks than the army, the RN previously split some of its ranks by seniority (time in rank) to provide equivalence: hence a lieutenant with fewer than eight years seniority wore two stripes, and ranked with an army captain;

650-490: A staff. Since the British Royal Air Force 's mid-rank officers' ranks are modelled on those of the Royal Navy , the term wing commander is used as a rank, and this is the equivalent of a lieutenant colonel in the army or a commander in the navy. The rank of wing commander is above that of squadron leader and below that of group captain . In the former Royal Naval Air Service , which was merged with

700-406: A title in certain circumstances, such as the commander of a squad of detectives, who would usually be of the rank of lieutenant, and in some police or sheriff's departments where commanders are ranks, officers or deputies of separate ranks are also referred to as commander by title. The Montreal police force, Service de police de la Ville de Montréal , uses the rank of commander (Commandant) . In

750-543: Is frigate captain . In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank has been assigned the NATO rank code of OF-4. Various functions of commanding officers were also styled commander . In the navy of the Dutch Republic , anyone who commanded a ship or a fleet without having an appropriate rank to do so could be called a Commandeur . This included ad hoc fleet commanders and acting captains ( Luitenant-Commandeur ). In

800-626: Is major , and in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces is squadron leader . It is roughly equivalent to the Corvette Captain rank in central European countries and the Captain 3rd rank rank in eastern European/CIS countries. The NATO rank code is mostly OF-3. A Lieutenant Commander is a department officer or the executive officer ( second-in-command ) on many warships and smaller shore installations, or

850-486: Is being used, or the higher grade of the rank if the officer is being addressed or referred to in shorthand. Therefore Lieutenant Commander John Smith Royal Navy is addressed as "Commander" or "Commander Smith", and referred to as "Commander Smith". Famous examples of this are: - Lieutenant Commander Lionel Crabb Royal Navy who in conversation, biopics, Admiralty correspondence and even statements in Parliament by

900-494: Is designated as mission commander. The commander is the captain of the ship, and makes all real-time critical decisions on behalf of the crew and in coordination with the Mission Control Center (MCC). The title of aircraft commander is used in civil aviation to refer to the pilot in command (commonly referred to as "captain", which is technically an airline rank and not related to the commander's role on board

950-472: Is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the United States Army , United States Air Force , United States Marine Corps , and United States Space Force . Notably, commander is the first rank at which the holder wears an embellished cap, whereas officers of the other military services are entitled to embellishment of similar headgear at O-4 rank. Promotion to commander in the U.S. Navy

1000-704: Is governed by United States Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) of 1980 or its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA). DOPMA/ROPMA guidelines suggest that 70% of lieutenant commanders should be promoted to commander after serving a minimum of three years at their present rank and after attaining 15 to 17 years of cumulative commissioned service, although this percentage may vary and be appreciably less for certain officer designators (i.e., primary "specialties") depending on defense budgets, force structure, and

1050-471: Is immediately above "commander-captain" ( Norwegian : Kommandørkaptein , Swedish : Kommendörkapten , Danish : Kommandørkaptajn ), which is equivalent to the Anglo-American naval rank of commander. In Denmark, the rank of commander exists as kommandørkaptajn (commander captain or commanding captain), which is senior to orlogskaptajn (captain) and kommandør (commander), which

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1100-449: Is possible to address that a platoon leader: In Mechanized infantry units, also, the platoon leader: Lieutenant commander Lieutenant Commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr , LtCdr. , LCDR , or LCdr ) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies . The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander . The corresponding rank in most armies and air forces

1150-536: Is senior to kommandørkaptajn . Kommandørkaptajn is officially translated into English as "Commander, Senior Grade", while orlogskaptajn is officially translated as '"Commander." A commander in the Royal Navy is above the rank of lieutenant commander , below the rank of captain , and is equivalent in rank to a lieutenant colonel in the army. A commander may command a frigate , destroyer , submarine , aviation squadron or shore installation, or may serve on

1200-663: Is the Dutch equivalent of the British air commodore . The rank of commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is identical in description to that of a commander in the British Royal Navy . RAN chaplains who are in divisions 1, 2 or 3 (of five divisions) have the equivalent rank standing of commanders. This means that to officers and NCOs below the rank of commander, lieutenant colonel, or wing commander,

1250-479: Is typically a lieutenant or captain , a squadron commander is typically a major or lieutenant colonel , a group commander is typically a colonel , a wing commander is typically a senior colonel or a brigadier general , a numbered air force commander is a major general or lieutenant general , and the commander of a major command is a general . In the United States Space Force ,

1300-572: The Incident Command System the incident commander is in charge of the response to an emergency. The title may pass from person to person as the incident develops. The title of commander is used in chivalric orders such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta for a member senior to a knight . The title of knight commander is often used to denote an even higher rank. These conventions are also used by most of

1350-635: The Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force in 1918, the pilots held appointments as well as their normal ranks in the Royal Navy, and they wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. A 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

1400-602: 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 an NCO or a lieutenant, depending on the size) is addressed as the comandante de puesto (post commander). In the United States Army ,

1450-475: The US Army , an officer with the rank of captain ( NATO rank code OF-2 ) may hold the title of " company commander ", whereas an officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel ( NATO rank code OF-4 ) typically holds the title of " battalion commander". 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

1500-405: The United States Air Force , the term "commander" (abbreviated "CC" in office symbols, i.e. "OG/CC" for "operations group commander") is applied officially to the commanding officer of an Air Force unit; hence, there are flight commanders, squadron commanders, group commanders, wing commanders, numbered air force commanders, and commanders of major commands . In rank, a flight commander

1550-401: The commanding officer of a smaller ship/installation. They are also department officers in naval aviation squadrons. Some navies address Lieutenant Commanders by their full rank or the positions they occupy ("captain" if in command of a vessel). In the British Royal Navy , United States Navy and Commonwealth Navies however, officers are addressed by their full rank if their full name

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1600-405: The naval rank equal to major in the army or air force and is the first senior officer rank. Lieutenant commanders are senior to lieutenants (N) and to army and air force captains , and are junior to commanders and lieutenant colonels . The insignia worn by a Royal Navy lieutenant commander is two medium gold braid stripes with one thin gold stripe running in between, placed upon

1650-603: The British Venerable Order of Saint John , a commander ranks below a knight. Platoon leader A platoon leader ( NATO ) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps ) is the officer in charge of a platoon . This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. The officer is usually assisted by

1700-571: The District of Columbia also uses the rank of commander, which is a grade above inspector and two grades above captain. In the Montgomery County, MD police department a commander is a captain assigned to command a police district. The insignia worn is commonly every insignia between major and major general, depending on the police or sheriff's department. Albuquerque Police Department commanders are captain equivalents, however, with

1750-465: The Prime Minister is almost invariably referred to as “Commander Crabb”. - Acting Temporary Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu RNVR , who is routinely referred to as "Commander Montagu" in historical and contemporary records, and in interviews by his colleagues on Operation Mincemeat . Lieutenants were commonly put in command of smaller vessels not warranting a commander or captain . Such

1800-746: The aircraft). Within the British police , Commander is a chief officer rank in the two police forces responsible for law enforcement within London , the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police . In both forces, the rank is senior to chief superintendent ; in the Metropolitan Police it is junior to deputy assistant commissioner and in the City of London Police it is junior to assistant commissioner . In forces outside London,

1850-413: The brass version of the captain's insignia. In some other police or sheriff's departments where the captains have brass insignias instead of silver, such as Florida's Lee County Sheriff's Department, commanders are above captains, and below majors, with the insignia being brass captain's bars with wreathes around. Northport's police commanders have the insignia of second lieutenants. Commander is also used as

1900-637: The chaplain is a superior. To those officers ranked higher than commander, the chaplain is subordinate. Although this equivalency exists, RAN chaplains who are in divisions 1, 2 or 3 do not actually wear the rank of commander, and they hold no command privilege. Commander is a naval rank in Scandinavia ( Kommandør in Danish and Norwegian, Kommendör in Swedish) equivalent to the Anglo-American naval rank of captain. The Scandinavian rank of commander

1950-662: The continental orders of chivalry. The United Kingdom uses different classifications. In most of the British orders of knighthood, the grade of knight (or dame) commander is the lowest grade of knighthood, but is above the grade of companion (which does not carry a knighthood). In the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire , the grade of commander is senior to the grade of lieutenant or officer, but junior to that of knight or dame commander. In

2000-484: The early 21st century and promotion is ostensibly now only awarded on merit. Throughout much of its existence, the British Royal Observer Corps (ROC) maintained a rank of observer lieutenant commander. The ROC wore a Royal Air Force uniform and their rank insignia appeared similar to that of an RAF squadron leader except that the stripes were shown entirely in black. Prior to the renaming,

2050-664: The fleet of the Admiralty of Zeeland however, commandeur was a formal rank, the equivalent of Schout-bij-nacht (rear-admiral) in the other Dutch admiralties. The Dutch use of the title as a rank lives on in the Royal Netherlands Navy , as the equivalent of commodore . In the Royal Netherlands Air Force , however, this rank is known by the English spelling of commodore which

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2100-541: The needs of the service. For instance, as in various small colonial settlements (such as various Caribbean islands) commanding the garrison was the crux of the top job, the military title Commandeur could be used instead of a civilian gubernatorial style, not unlike the Portuguese captain-major . In the British Army , the term "commander" is officially applied to the non-commissioned officer in charge of

2150-441: The rank equates to assistant chief constable which bears the same insignia. The Metropolitan Police introduced the rank in 1946, after the rank of deputy assistant commissioner was split in two, with senior DACs keeping that rank and title and junior DACs being regraded as commanders. The Metropolitan Police also used the rank of deputy commander , ranking just below that of commander, between 1946 and 1968. Officers in charge of

2200-624: The rank had been known as observer lieutenant (first class) . In the United States , the rank of lieutenant commander exists in the United States Navy , United States Coast Guard , United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps , and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps . Within the U.S. Navy, lieutenant commanders are listed as junior officers . There are two insignia used by U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant commanders. On service khakis and all working uniforms, lieutenant commanders wear

2250-508: The rank of commander due to the size, complexity, and high-profile nature of the borough. The Metropolitan Police Service announced that by summer 2018 the rank would be phased out, along with that of chief inspector . However, in August 2017 it was announced that the new Commissioner Cressida Dick had cancelled the plan to phase them out. The rank badge worn by a commander or an assistant chief constable consists of crossed tipstaves within

2300-468: The term "commander" is applied officially to the commanding officer of a Space Force unit; hence, there are squadron commanders, delta commanders, and commanders of field commands . In rank, a squadron commander is a lieutenant colonel , a delta commander is a colonel , and the commander of a field command is a major general or lieutenant general . In NASA spacecraft missions since the beginning of Project Gemini , one crew member on each spacecraft

2350-410: 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. In

2400-548: The term "commander" may be applied to them informally. In the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry commander is a rank equivalent to major . Commandeur as title of colonial office was the case on the island of Tobago in the Dutch colony of Nieuw Walcheren . The usage is similar/identical to the British Army , with the term "commander" having been applied to the colonel who was Commander, 2 Land Force Group, Linton Camp, and now to Commander, 1 Brigade . In

2450-436: The twelve geographical Basic Command Units are referred to as "BCU commander". However, the officers do not hold the rank of commander but instead hold the rank of chief superintendent. Prior to organisational change merging boroughs in to BCUs, officers in charge of policing each of the London's boroughs were given the title "borough commander". A previous exception to this was the borough commander of Westminster , who held

2500-442: The usual Royal Navy curl, and they were surmounted by an eagle. In the United States Navy , United States Coast Guard , United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps , and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps , commander (abbreviated "CDR") is a senior-grade officer rank, with the pay grade of O-5. Commander ranks above lieutenant commander (O-4) and below captain . (O-6). Commander

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