Talk:Swedish Army rank insignia

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[edit] NATO codes (1)

Corresponding NATO codes are incorrect or outdated. Should be

  • Major = Captain OF-3 Command Sergeant Majors company leader and positions held by Command Sergeant Majors
  • Kapten = Master Sergeant, First Sergeant, Second Lieutenant = OR-8, OF-1, platoon leader, batalion and regiment level adjutants, quart masters
  • Lojtnant = Sergeant First Class = OR-7, deputy platoon leader
  • Fanrik = Staff Sergeant, Sergeant = OR-6, OR-5, leader of a small squad (8 men). Note US Army squads usually consist of 10 men.(ref: Swedish Cavalry)
  • Sergeant = Sergeant = OR-5, leader of a small squad (8 men). US squads consist of 10 men.

(ref: Hemvarnet)

  • Furir = Corporal, Speicalist, Private First Class = OR-4, OR-3, the rank is earned after 10 month, Private First Class is earned after 12 months. deputy squad Leader, specialist. (Ref: Swedish Cavalry)
  • Korpral = Private = OR-2, the rank is earned after 6-8 months. Private OR-2 is earned after 6 months.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Randstrom (talk • contribs) 18:46, 25 June 2006 - 09:27, 26 June 2006

  • Changed the page to better correspond with NATO codes.
  • Removed Fanjunknare and Overfurir
etc —Preceding unsigned comment added by Randstrom (talk • contribs) 20:17, 9 July 2006 (Randstrom also removed his/her previous comments when adding this one.)

[edit] Incorrect information

The information on this page is incorrect! Se http://www.mil.se/images/local/gradbeteckningar_stor.gif for correct information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.237.31.41 (talk • contribs) 13:16, 14 July 2006

[edit] Fanjunkare and Overfurir

I have removed Fanjunkare and Overfurir as those ranks do not exist anymore. Please refer to what you think is wrong.

Malin —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.213.137.245 (talk • contribs) 16:49, 16 July 2006

[edit] Translation of ranks

An unidentified person has altered information on this page without giving any reason for doing so, which is not going to make Wikipedia any good. Changes without comments should be ignored.

Some “ranks” may sound similar, such as Captain and Kapten, but the magnitude of difference is about the same as a Swedish Mil and an American Mile. A Swedish Kapten does not translate to an Amercian Captain, because a Kapten commands units such as a platoon (about 35 men), while a Captain a company (about 160 men). Captains in the US are university graduates; Swedish Kaptains High School graduates. [Ref: KFOR – Swedish military personnel servicing abroad] -

Let me confirm that my observations are correct

Command Sweden US

Battalion Commander

 Overste, Overstelojtnant Lieutenant Colonel

Deputy Battalion Commander

 Overstelojtnant Major
Company Commander Major Captain

Deputy Company Commander

 Major, Kapten First Lieutenant

Platoon Commander

 Kapten Second Lieutenant

Deputy Platoon Commander

 Lojtnant Sergeant First Class, Staff Sergeant
Squad Leader (9-13 men) Sergeant, Staff Sergeant
Team Leader (5-8 men) Sergeant, Fanrik
Deputy Squad Leader (9-13 men) Corporal
Team Leader (4 men) Corporal
Deputy Team Leader (5-8 men) Furir
Deputy Team Leader (4 men) Private First Class
Rifleman level A Furir Private First Class
Rifleman level B Menig Private 2


The rank Korpral is a pure training rank and does not correspond to any other ranks in the US or BA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.213.137.245 (talk • contribs) 19:13, 16 July 2006


[edit] The change to "Military Academy"

Agree with the change, but admission requirements are way too low to consider MHS a post secondary school. For example, the requirement of [Math B] corresponds to primary school level in most countries. Moreover, the school has so far not been recognized as a college or university grade institution for its 2 year programme, yet the School is negotiating with the board of higher education to grant students some college level credits for its newly established 3 year programme. Looking at the def. of "Military Academy" in Wikipedia, MHS should therefore be considered a High School-level institution rather than a University-level institution.

Malin —Preceding unsigned comment added by MalinLindquist (talk • contribs) 20:15, 16 July 2006

Does entry to the MHS presuppose completed gymnasium? If it does, it is a post-secondary education. Moreover, "Military Academy" is the official English translation, as you can see from the webpage. BTW, please log in and use four tildes (~~~~) to sign and add a datestamp to your comments. It makes discussion pages easier to follow. This page would need some refactoring to get the chronology of the comments clear, but I may do that at some other time. up+land 16:41, 17 July 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Official translations

  • Changed the page to correspond with our official translation
  • The user "MalinLindquist" is either lying through her teeth or completely ignorant. It's doubful if she has ever been in touch the Swedish Armed Forces
  • Haven't time to change the text right now, even if it's full of factual error. Se above for probably cause of those errors...

Håkan —Preceding unsigned comment added by HåkanSyrén (talk • contribs) 21:03, 16 July 2006, and 21:06, 16 July 2006

[edit] Corrections

As an active Army officer I must correct this article and the contents of this discission: Fanjunkare and Överfurir is still used (in the Swedish international troops).

  • A Swedish Kapten is still a Captain although the Swedish doctrine is different than the US and British way of command. I strongly recommend that translations are to be made in terms of meaning of the language rather than comparison between the use of different ranks and commands.
  • The DCO of a Battallion is almost always a Major.
  • A Swedish Kapten is Platoon Leader or 2IC of a company.
  • Usually the Dep Plat Leader is a 1.LT
  • Further more the Swedish Military Academys Basic officers course is three (3) Years long beginning this fall. And I must state that the Swedish regulations of examina are somewhat extreme compared to other nations where the basic officers course is considered a formal university degree. Therefore that comparison is somewhat akward.

For the translation of the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters please go to: The facts of the Swedish Armed Forces There You will find the official version.

There are probably more errors made in the article but when my changes were changed back again by MalinLindquist i kind of lost interest for the whole thing. I hope that my colleagues out there continiues.

/Army Officer —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.224.155.141 (talk • contribs) 21:17, 16 July 2006 - 21:29, 16 July 2006

[edit] Malin's editing

Several active, reserve and conscript personnel are active in correcting Malins somewhat bizarre view of the world. Hopefully this will result in a better written and factual article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.216.181.48 (talk • contribs) 18:18, 17 July 2006

[edit] Note on refactoring of page

Note: The comments above were mostly added in a completely haphazard way, not formatted in accordance with Wikipedia house style and not properly signed with usernames or IPs using four tildes (~~~~), making it impossible to see who wrote what, when the comments were made or if they were made in reply to something else. I have reconstructed the flow of the talkpage, reformatted some text with bullets and paragraph breaks, and added signatures and timestamps from the history. up+land 17:22, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] NATO codes (2)

Edited the NATO codes for Major to 2.Lt in accordance with the formal use in KFOR. /Army Officer. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.224.155.141 (talk • contribs) 22:37, 17 July 2006

We do need to get some things straight here. Whatever the Swedish Army does during its deployments aborad is irrelevant to the correct translation of ranks. These are given by the link I have provided in the re-edited article. I have no idea where some contributors are getting their information from, but what I have posted is correct, and can be verified by contact with the Swedish Armed Forces.

[edit] Swedish Army ranks are two to three levels too high MalinLindquist 12:31, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

To reply to the last line above - troops abroad is basically the only standing force of the Swedish Army (se below for more details).

[edit] Incorrect

The information on the Army Rank Insignia page is fraudulent – it is modified by biased Swedish officers who deliberately attempt to create an illusion that Swedish ranks are two to three levels higher than what they actually represent. Also, those authors show poor knowledge regarding ranks and organizations of other nations.

[edit] Some examples

  • First Sergeant is ranked below a Staff Sergeant, which is wrong as First Sergeant is four levels above a Staff Sergeant.
  • First Sergeant is not just a team-leader of 5-8 men.
  • The rank Corporal is not just a training rank gained after 6 months of basic training.
  • The rank Sergeant is not a non-commanding rank for riflemen and specialists.

[edit] Some notes about Swedish ranks

  • Kapten = responsible for the training of a platoon of recruits.

Top 30 Kaptens may be selected to serve as platoon commanders. However, most Kaptens will never be assigned to command troops.

  • Lojtnant = instructor of recruits.

Top 30 Lojtnants may serve as deputy platoon commanders. However, most Lojtnant will never be assigned to command troops.

  • Fanrik = assistant instructor of recruits.

Why may an overwhelming majority of officers such as (Overstelojtnant, Major, Kapten, Lojtnant, Fanrik) never lead troops? Simply, there are almost no troops to lead. Consider:

  • Fact 1: Sweden has some 3,500 (Major and Överstelöjtnt), 8,000 (Kapten, Lojtnant, Fanrik), and 10,953 (reserve Major, Kapten, Lojtnant, Fanrik)
  • Fact 2: Sweden Army has less than 1,000 men standing today and may mobilize two mechanized/infantry/tank battalions plus some auxiliary companies within a year.

[edit] Admission requirement to be hired as an officer to receive two years High School level schooling and some military training at MHS (Military Academy)

  • Have received 10 months of conscript training and reached the rank private(Menig) or higher. Conscripts recieve the rank (Menig, Furir, Sergeant and Fanrik) depending on apitude where private(menig) is the lowest.
  • Vocational School (less than corresponding High School in other countries)
  • MathB which corresponds to Junior High School level math in other countries.

[edit] There are no Overfurir or Fanjunkare in the Army

Please see the official rank page of the Swedish Armed Forces: http://www.mil.se/article.php?id=432. Overfurir and Fanjunkare are still listed as officer ranks in the Armed Forces regulatory document since there are some hand-full remaining holders of such ranks at some volunteer military related organizations. Still, there are no Overfurir or Fanjunkare in the Army.

[edit] Fanrik, Lojtnant, Kapten, Major who become officers after 1982 (NBO) are non-commissioned officers.

To classify Swedish officers as commissioned officers is an attempt to equate Swedish officers to that of commissioned officers of the US. First, the system of commissioning officers (officersfullmakt) was abolished 1982 by NBO (New Leader Order) and the term officer changed to denote all salaried military personnel with the lowest rank set to Fanrik. Swedish officers are, thus, officer without a commission and to use US-term: non-commissioned officers. Secondly, Swedish officers such as (Fanrik, Lojtnant, Kapten) are almost identical to junior non-commissioned officers in the US when considering, position, responsibly, seniority, education, etc.

[edit] Statements without grund

  • The user "MalinLindquist" is either lying through her teeth or completely ignorant. It's doubful if she has ever been in touch the Swedish Armed Forces
  • I strongly recommend that translations are to be made in terms of meaning of the language rather than comparison between the use of different ranks and commands.
  • Several active, reserve and conscript personnel are active in correcting Malins somewhat bizarre view of the world.

As I stated before, there are basically no scholastic requirements to be hired as a Swedish officer, which is easy to understand considering expressions such as above. They merely express feelings, angers, frustrations, etc in the absence of facts, arguments or counter arguments.

"meaning of the language" Hakan is translating solely based on syntactical similarities and completely disregards the meaning = semantic = definition of ranks.

[edit] In general

[edit] Discipline

I would discourage from editing the main page directly to reflect the view of one single person, without consensus and without discussing it first; or the page will be treated as junk. This is not a page to promote ones rank internationally several levels higher than what it represents, it is a page to inform its reader about Swedish ranks and how they relate.

[edit] Importance of ranks

Ranks do play a very important role during battle as subordinates often face the issue whose order to honor. The rule is to obey the order from the officer of higher rank to assure that best possible tactics apply. For such reason, a Swedish officer who is qualified to command a platoon should not have a rank that is senior to an officer that is qualified to command a company.

[edit] The situation must be dealt by wikipedia.org.

If an organization decides to rename Corporals and Sergeants to Fanrik, Lojtnant and Kapten respectively, should wikipedia.org till translate those ranks to Lieutenant and Captains? Put it in another way, if all crew members, including stewardess, of an Airline company receives titles such as co-pilots and captains, should wikipedia.org translate stewardess to pilot, because the person has such rank there? Moreover, should wikipeida.org fall for the pressure from stewardess of that company to stick with the translation?

I would urge officer of other nations, such as from the US, to present their view on this.
Malin Lindquist

[edit] Response to argument by Malin Lindquist

[edit] Counter

The Swedish Armed Forces with the blessing of EU/NATO organizations translate the ranks into British Army ranks in the manner that are currently listed on the article page. (See link at top of page for verification) These translations are, for instance, used on name badges during international missions in order for the military forces of other countries to easier collaborate with the Swedish, again with the blessing of EU/NATO organizations. Current examples of these translations in active use can be found in Swedish units serving under NATO command in Kosovo and Afghanistan, various UN missions including in Liberia and soon the same translations will be used for the upcoming EU Nordic Battlegroup.

Therefore, as the translations are in official use by the Swedish Armed Forces with the approval of the three dominant international organizations (EU/NATO/UN) it should without question take precedence over subjective and arbitrary judgments presented by individual wikipedia users. If deemed necessary by wikipedia consensus a "Conflicting opinions" section could be added at the bottom of the page to present alternative views.

Överfurir and Fanjunkare, as is mentioned on the article page, remains an active rank which cannot presently be permanently appointed. However current appointees retain their rank until such time as they are promoted and in addition the ranks are in active use for temporary appointments on international missions. A specific instance where överfurir is used is MP team leaders which have completed the Swedish civilian national police academy. (See exampel of MP team leader with the four bars of an överfurir here: http://www.mil.se/int/images/local/la02_v441_mp2.jpg )

Likewise fanjukare is used on a limited basis, therefore, taken together with them listed as active ranks by official Swedish Armed Forces publications they are fully deservant of being listed on this rank table. The rank listing linked to is older in origin and stems from a period when the Armed Forces had decided to phase out the two ranks in question in their entirety, a decision since reversed.

The NATO codes listed on the page has been derived from those the British Army assigns to the rank the Swedish Armed Forces have translated the respective Swedish ranks into. Currently this is the best source available as no official translation directly into NATO codes have surfaced yet.

[edit] Conclusion

The arrangement of the rank translations in the tables as they currently stand are valid, supported by official publications and international organizations and should not be altered unless changes to the official translations are made by the Swedish Armed Forces. Again, arbitrary judgments by individual wikipedia users in contrast to existing written sources must not take precedence. MicaelJ 13:08, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] My initial thoughts of this article

First I just have to say, wow! Was a while ago I checked this article. Really like what has happened to this article since I started it, as well as making the images (still have the original XCF file). When I wrote it I wasn't so sure about many things, but I had a pretty good idea. And I did make several decisions on my own regarding the translations. Hoping it would be corrected by those interested. I just wanted to provide the basics.


I write this because the discussion has been alot of "what's in use today". I felt it neccesary to bring another side of the story...

My idea of this article was to inform the reader as the current ranks used, as well as the historical context of them. This because Sweden has made many changes to it's Military service system over the years and thus the way ranks are used.

The Vice Korpral Rank

A comment worth of mention is the undergoing debate over re-introducing the Vice Korpral rank again. Well, at least I've heard many officers expressing this wish, as well as some arguments published in Insats & Försvar (insändare, cant properly translate) and other military magazines. Reason for this is to promote those who serve 10- or 7.5-months and can never exceed above Menig, but are of that character they deserve a promation. A way of saying thank-you, as well as a bait for people to excell as soldiers. As the Departement of Service (Pliktverket) decides wether a person will be promoted or not, at drafting. This is in contradiction with many other nation's professional armies, when you have to earn your rank (U.S. minimum of 6 months with each rank + CO recommendation). The current system does not reward good soldiers, and there are many examples where prives should have been the Squad Leader and vice versa. Sadly.

Back to the subject. Even though some ranks are not widly used anymore, but still mentioned alot, should be mentioned in the article. To exemplify, no-one has objected to the rank Fältmarsalk. This hasn't been used for over 100 years. And cannot even be found in the HQ's official publications. But still no-one objects about it's presence in this article. Why? I think because it puts the ranks in a historical perspective people are interested to learn.

And yet another rank to mention is the Kornett' rank. Same as Fänrik, but used by the cavalry. Even though the HQ doesn't publish this rank. Many officers in the cavalry likes to use it, to distinguish themselfs from the rest of the army. Notice that the cavalry still organize in Squadrons, not Companies. Although this is the same.

Kornett, An alternative of Fänrik

Fänrik was the youngest officer in his company and, as such, responsible for carring the company banner, Fana. The Kornett in a cavalry squadron was the youngest officer in his squadron and then responsibile for the Kornett (means exactly Cornet). Everyone knows the "Attack" signal from U.S. 19th-century cavalry from cowboy movies. That job of signaling was the job of a Kornett. Simply put.

Summarizing

This article can really be great with alot of historical information, which are hardly known anymore to the general public. Alot of these information cant even be found at a regular library today. You'd have to go to a museum to find it.

After I did my service and talked to some people who did their service 40 years ago, some are stunned by the fact that there's no such thing as Kvartersmästare/Ryttmästare anymore. And I likewise stunned hearing this would actually be a rank. I have no further information regarding this, and would really appreciate anyone who did to share it.

This comment have now really expanded way beyond what I first intended. But I hope I've made it clear to people what I mean.

This article should, beside informing the reader of current ranks, also contain the context of use, as well as historical backgrounds of ranks, including out-of-date ranks.

That was one the ideas of this article to begin with. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, an historical context is not out-of-subject. Rather the opposite, enlighten people of the history of a particular subject so he/she may understand the present better. Those interested in learning the swedish ranks should also be interested in learning why they exist. And for what purpose they have served. And as described above, why a officer in a cavalry regiment may introduce himself as Kornett, while there doesn't exist such a rank today.

Faffia 23:21, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Re-arrangement of article

Have edited the article to re-arrange the text which previously were before the insignia tables to now be after.

Note that removed the leading text: The only logical definition of an officer is 'one who holds a commision'. There is no confusion regarding this. All reserve and serving (reserv- och yrkes) officers in Sweden hold a commision. Basing the rank structure on which level officers serve in deployments abroad is incorrect. Nor should the rank structure of the US Army be considered the sine qua non of armed forces ranks. Because this text, which in fact is a debate argument, does not belong in the article itself, but rather in this discussion.

The comment about Fanjunkare and Överfurirer by MichaelJ posted in this discussion was also added to the article. It should be included to inform the reader why it's still listed.

Re-added the abbrivation listing for the ranks. Don't know who did remove it. This data is very useful for anyone interested as they are rarely published anywhere. But they are used everywhere! They print it on name tags, sign papers with it. It's even common to see it on the officers ID cards. I have been unable to find a official document from the HQ dictating the abbrivations, so I prove they are all correct. Please change it if you know the correct one.

And finally, I did change the translations (sigh!?). But I did it in accordance to "The Facts 2005", as published by Högkvarteret [HQ]. Personally I agreed better with the previous translation. But the HQ decition takes precedence.

Faffia 16:38, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Insignia for Generals

The insignia used for generals (with the golden background) are, in context with the other insignias, incorrect. The golden background is only used in the shoulder straps (Swedish axelklaff). As all the other insignias are the BDU collar version, the general insignias should follow suit. 62.88.128.21 00:23, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

A correct observation. However, since all Armed Forces branches wears the green army insignias on the collars on the m/90 BDU, or other, or simlar, "field/battle dresses". The shoulder straps are the correct branch oriented insignias.
Example, while a lieutenant in the air force wears a insignia consiting of one small and one large "stick" on the shoulder and sleeve. If he/she would put on the military green m90 BDU, he would wear the army insignia of a lieutenant of two stars.
The difference would be that he would still wear the air force wings on his right collar, instead of the, say, panzar fist if he would be an army officer at a panzar regiment.~
I will, when I get the time, update the rank insignias with a "shoulder strap" version for the non-general ranks as well.
--Faffia 02:15, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rank Influation (sic)

I removed the section on rank inflation, which, aside from some rather amusing spelling errors, does not have anything to do with rank insignia. Incidentally, Officers training conscripts have generally been working one 'level' below their de facto assignments, this, of course, has nothing to do with their qualifications to lead. 80.216.181.48 21:41, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

For that reason, well, why don't you remove the other sections, like Överfurir and Fanjunkare, Conscript Officers, Ranks based service time or Officer command structure? I'm aware that the article is titled with "insignia", though the correct title would instead be, considering the content of the article, "Swedish Army Ranks".
In regards to typos, spelling, grammar (etc), instead of just removing the section, fix it! I admit that I don't speak/write perfect english. Well guess what, it's not my native language.
Besides, if you ask around older military personel you'll find out that captains were in command of companies, lieutenants commanded platoons, etc. So unless you can cite an official publication from the Swedish Armed Forces that says otherwise, I see no reason why the section would not be part of the article, as there has been, and is, much confusion surrounding the subject (Rank inflation).
--Faffia 02:02, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Service Time

"Currently, every conscript is serving 11 months, regardless of rank/command responsibility."

First of, it is *atleast* 11 months, divided into two "terms". There is an optional third term, I believe? Also, isn't there a 3 month service time for those who wish to simply join the Home Guard after doing service? 217.210.224.224 21:25, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

That's correct. However, conscripts serve 11 months (two terms). If and when you agree to a third term, you're no longer a conscript (värnpliktig). By that time you have a contract (kontraktspersonal).
On the subject of basic training prior to joining the Home Guard... I do not know the details. But you do have a contract with the armed forces for the duration of that time. So you're not a conscript in this case either.
All in all, the quoted text from the article is correct. But I agree, it does leave out quite a bit of information :)
The reason why I put that line in the article was that I wanted the reader to know that just because you're a Corporal doesn't mean you have more experience... (which is the case with most armies) The real downside of the National Service system, IMHO.
You can review a more official description of the National Service system
--Faffia 05:01, 19 April 2007 (UTC)