Swiss army ranks

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Swiss army ranks have changed little over the centuries, except for the introduction, in 2001, of a new set of warrant officers. The rank of Fourier, for instance, bestowed on the WO who administers a company's finances and subsistence, has been discontinued in the French army, but remains in Switzerland. In the tables below, NATO codes are used for comparison purposes only. Switzerland is not a member of NATO, and the rank structure in the senior officer region can be seen to diverge significantly from other armies'.

1 Insignia
2 Shoulder board colour
3 External links

[edit] Insignia

The rank insignia for all personnel are worn on shoulder boards with the appropriate background colour (see below). Shoulder boards of Senior Staff Officers are always black. Designations are given in the army's three official languages, with an English translation which is used during overseas missions.

[edit] Officers

[edit] Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces

NATO rank code	OF-9
Designation (with abbreviation) English	General (Gen) Général (gén) Generale (gen) General (Gen)
Insignia

[edit] Senior Staff Officers

NATO rank code	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Brigadier (Br) Brigadier (br) Brigadiere (br) Brigadier General (Brig Gen)	Divisionär (Div) Divisionnaire (div) Divisionario (div) Major General (Maj Gen)	Korpskommandant (KKdt) Commandant de corps (cdt C) Comandante di corpo (cdt C) Lieutenant General (Lt Gen)
Insignia

[edit] Staff Officers

NATO rank code	OF-2/3	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Fachoffizier Officier spécialiste Ufficiale specialista Specialist Officer	Major (Maj) Major (maj) Maggiore (magg) Major (Maj)	Oberstleutnant (Oberstlt) Lieutenant-colonel (lt col) Tenete colonnello (ten col) Lieutenant Colonel (LTC/Lt Col)	Oberst (Oberst) Colonel (col) Colonnello (col) Colonel (Col)
Insignia

[edit] Captains

NATO rank code	OF-2
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Hauptmann (Hptm) Capitaine (cap) Capitano (cap) Captain (Capt)
Insignia

[edit] Subaltern Officers

NATO rank code	OF-1
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Leutnant (Lt) Lieutenant (lt) Tenente (ten) Second Lieutenant (2 Lt)	Oberleutnant (Oblt) Premier-lieutenant (plt) Primo tenente (1 ten) First Lieutenant (1 Lt/LFC)
Insignia

[edit] Senior NCOs

NATO rank code	OR-7			OR-8	OR-9
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Feldweibel (Fw) Sergent-major (sgtm) Sergente maggiore (sgtm) Sergeant major (SGM/Sgt Maj)	Fourier (Four) Fourrier (four) Furiere (four) Quartermaster Sergeant (QMS)	Hauptfeldweibel (Hptfw) Sergent-major chef (sgtm chef) Sergente maggiore capo (sgtm capo) Chief sergeant major (CSM)	Adjutant (Adj) Adjudant (adj) Aiutante (aiut) Warrant Officer (WO)	Stabsadjutant (Stabsadj) Adjudant d'état-major (adj EM) Aiutante di stato maggiore (aiut SM) Staff Warrant Officer (SWO)	Hauptadjutant (Hptadj) Adjudant-major (adjm) Aiutante maggiore (aiut magg) Master Warrant Officer (MWO)	Chefadjutant (Chefadj) Adjudant-chef (adj chef) Aiutante capo (aiut capo) Chief Warrant Officer (CWO)
Insignia

[edit] NCOs

NATO rank code	OR-4	OR-6
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Korporal (Kpl) Caporal (cpl) Caporale (cpl) Corporal (Cpl)	Wachtmeister (Wm) Sergent (sgt) Sergente (sgt) Sergeant (Sgt)	Oberwachtmeister (Obwm) Sergent chef (sgt chef) Sergente capo (sgt capo) Sergeant First Class (SFC)
Insignia

[edit] Privates

Recruits of all services do not wear any rank insignia. Once recruit school is finished, privates wear one.

NATO rank code	OR-2		OR-3
Designation (with abbreviation) English	Soldat (Sdt) Soldat (sdt) Soldato (sdt) Private/Private E-1 (Pte)	Gefreiter (Gfr) Appointé (app) Appuntato (app) Private/Private E-2 (Pte)	Obergefreiter (Ogfr) Appointé-chef (app chef) Appuntato capo (app capo) Private First Class (PFC)
Insignia