Colonel (Canada)

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Please see "Colonel" for other countries which use this rank

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of Colonel (Col) (French: colonel or col) is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a Captain of the Navy. A Colonel is the highest rank of Senior Officer. A Colonel is senior to a Lieutenant-Colonel or Naval Commander, and junior to a Brigadier-General or Commodore.

Typical appointments for Colonels include:

• Base Commander (BComd)
• Wing Commander (Wg Comd)
• Commanding officer of a school or training establishment, such as Commandant of the Canadian Land Command and Staff College, or Commander of Combat Training Centre Gagetown
• Commander of a Brigade-Group
• Branch Advisor
• Military attaché to foreign nations

The rank insignia for a Colonel is four ½" stripes, worn on the cuffs of the Service Dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The insignia worn on the headdress for an Army Colonel is the Crest of the Canadian Coat of Arms: a crowned gold lion with a maple leaf in its paw standing on a red-and-white wreath, all beneath the royal Crown; the collar insignia is two crossed sabres. Some Colonels, by nature of holding a specific appointment, may continue to wear the insignia of their personnel branch or regiment; for example, the Honorary Colonel of an infantry regiment. Colonels in the Air Force wear the Air Force badge on their headdress.

Colonels are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am".

Note: Before Unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern.

Army uniform variations

Dress uniform tunic

Uniform shirts

CADPAT uniform

Arid-region CADPAT uniform

Air Force uniform variations

Dress uniform tunic

Uniform shirts

CADPAT uniform

[edit] Honorary ranks and appointments

There are also several honorary ranks and/or appointments associated with the rank of Colonel, or containing the word "Colonel" in their title.

• Colonel-in-Chief
• Colonel of the Regiment
• Honorary Colonel
• Colonel-Commandant

Personnel holding these honorary ranks are not part of the military operational chain-of-command. Rather, they serve in a ceremonial manner, often as a guest of honour at parades, mess dinners, or at other military traditions such as during Remembrance Day. Usually, honorary ranks are filled by people who have had a prior association with the battalion, regiment, or squadron they represent. Princess Patricia of Connaught is the Colonel-in-Chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, one of the most decorated infantry regiments in the Canadian Forces (CF). An Honorary Colonel of a CF Flying or Air Maintenance Squadron may be a past Commanding Officer of that squadron (who has since retired from active duty), or an air ace during the war.