Military ranks of the Swiss Armed Forces
The military ranks of the Swiss Army have changed little over the centuries, except for the introduction, in 2001, of a new set of warrant officers. The rank insignia for all personnel are worn on shoulder boards with the appropriate background colour (see below). Recruits of all services do not wear any rank insignia. Once recruit school is finished, privates wear one. Designations are given in German, French, Romansh and Italian (in this order), with an English translation which is used during overseas missions. In the chart 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'.
Enlisted ranks
- Soldier - Private E-1 (Pte) – Soldat (Sdt); soldat (sdt); schuldà (sdt); soldato (sdt).
- Private E-2 (Pte) – Gefreiter (Gfr); appointé (app); appuntà (app); appuntato (app).
- Private first class (PFC) – Obergefreiter (Obgfr); appointé-chef (app chef); primappuntà; appuntato capo (app capo): the rank was introduced after a long debate on 1 January 2004. They are specialists, who take over tasks of responsibility or hold the position of a group commander. If the Obergefreiter has a commanding role, they count among the NCOs, otherwise they are enlisted personnel. A soldier may be promoted to Obergefreiter after attending the NCO course at the Swiss Army's Recruit School, during which time they are also called Anwärter. Upon very good conduct, a Gefreiter may also be promoted to Obergefreiter at a "repetition course". This promotion is not linked to extended duty (service time).
- Corporal (Cpl) – Korporal (Kpl); caporal (cpl); corporal (cpl); caporale (cpl).
- Sergeant (Sgt) – Wachtmeister (Wm); sergent (sgt); sergent (sgt); sergente (sgt).
- Sergeant first class (SFC) – Oberwachtmeister (Obwm); sergent chef (sgt chef); caposergent (csgt); sergente capo (sgt capo).
- Sergeant major (SGM/Sgt Maj) – Feldweibel (Fw); sergent-major (sgtm); primsergent (psgt); sergente maggiore (sgtm): the lowest rank of "Higher non-commissioned officers". The Feldweibel oversees unit-level military service and operations.
- Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) – Fourier (Four); fourrier (four); furier (fur); furiere (fur): the WO who administers a company's finances and subsistence.
- Chief sergeant major (CSM) – Hauptfeldweibel (Hptfw); sergent-major chef (sgtm chef); capoprimsergent (cpsgt); sergente maggiore capo (sgtm capo).
- Warrant officer (WO) – Adjutant Unteroffizier (Adj Uof); adjudant sous-officier(adj Sof); adjudant (adj); aiutante (aiut).
- Staff warrant officer (SWO) – Stabsadjutant (Stabsadj); adjudant d'état-major (adj EM); adjutant da stab (adj S); aiutante di stato maggiore (aiut SM).
- Master warrant officer (MWO) – Hauptadjutant (Hptadj); adjudant-major (adjm); adjutant principal; aiutante maggiore (aiut magg).
- Chief warrant officer (CWO) – Chefadjutant (Chefadj); adjudant-chef (adj chef); schefadjutant (schefadj); aiutante capo (aiut capo).
Officers
- Second Lieutenant (2 Lt) – Leutnant (Lt); lieutenant (lt); litenent (lt); tenente (ten).
- First Lieutenant (1 Lt/LFC) – Oberleutnant (Oblt); premier-lieutenant (plt); primlitenent (plt); primo tenente (1 ten).
- Captain (Capt) – Hauptmann (Hptm); capitaine (cap); chapitani (chap); capitano (cap).
- Major (Maj) – Major (Maj); major (maj); maior (mai); maggiore (magg).
- Lieutenant Colonel (LTC/Lt Col) – Oberstleutnant (Oberstlt); lieutenant-colonel (lt col); litinent colonel (lt col); tenete colonnello (ten col).
- Colonel (Col) – Oberst (Oberst); colonel (col); colonel (col); colonnello (col).
- Specialist Officer – Fachoffizier; officier spécialiste (of spéc); uffizier spezialist (uff spez); ufficiale specialista (uff spec).
- Brigadier General (Brig Gen) – Brigadier (Br); brigadier (br); brigadier (br); brigadiere (br).
- Major General (Maj Gen) – Divisionär (Div); divisionnaire (div); divisiunari (div); divisionario (div).
- Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) – Korpskommandant (KKdt); commandant de corps (cdt C); cumandant da corp (cdt C); comandante di corpo (cdt C).
- General (Gen) – General (Gen); général (gén); general (gen); generale (gen): the rank is only assigned during time of war. If needed, the general is elected by the Federal Assembly and is the commander of the whole army and air force; however, he is subordinate to the Federal Council. Generals were appointed during the Neuchâtel Crisis (Guillaume Henri Dufour), Franco-Prussian War (Hans Herzog), First World War (Ulrich Wille) and Second World War (Henri Guisan).
The four highest ranks can wear a dress uniform Kepi with additional rank insignia:
Shoulder board colour
| Staff officers, engineers, intelligence, chaplaincy |
Infantry |
Armoured Corps |
Artillery |
Air Force |
Signal and command support corps |
Medical corps, Red Cross service |
| Rescue corps |
Logistic corps |
Territorial service |
Military security |
NBC defence corps |
Armed Forces Legal Service |
Peace Support Operation |
External links
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Military_rank_insignia_of_Switzerland Military rank insignia of Switzerland] at Wikimedia Commons
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