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

Enlisted men


rank		 Rank insignia Name Description
Mounting loopCamouflageDeutschFrançaisItalianoRumantschEn equivalent
OR-1b Rekrut (Rek)Recrue (recr) recluta Recruit
OR-1a Soldat (Sdt) Soldat (Sdt) Soldato Schuldà Private (PFC)
OR-2 Gefreiter (Gfr) Appointé (App) Appuntato Appuntà
OR-3 Obergefreiter (Obgfr) Appointé-chef (App chef) Appuntato capo Primappuntà Private First Class (PFC) They are specialists, who take over tasks of responsibility or hold the position of a squad commander. If the Obgf has a commanding role, they count among the NCOs, otherwise they are enlisted men. A soldier may be promoted to Obgfr 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).

Non-commissioned officers (NCO)


rank		 Rank insignia Name Description
Mounting loopCamouflageDeutschFrançaisItalianoRumantschEn equivaklent
OR-4 Korporal (Kpl) Caporal (Cpl) Corporale (Cpl) Caporal (Cpl) Corporal
OR-5b Wachtmeister (Wm) Sergent (Sgt) Sergente (Sgt) Sergent (Sgt) Sergeant
OR-5a Oberwachtmeister (Obwm) Sergent chef (Sgt chef) Sergente capo (Sgt capo) Caposergent (Csgt)

Higher NCOs


rank		 Rank insignia Name Description
Mounting loopCamouflageDeutschFrançaisItalianoRumantschEn equivaklent
OR-6 Feldweibel (Fw) Sergent-major (Sgtm) Sergente maggiore (Sgtm) Primsergent (Psgt) Staff Sergeant
(SSgt)		 Lowest rank of "Higher non-commissioned officers" (NCO); the Feldweibel oversees unit-level military service and operations.
OR-7b Fourier (Four) Fourrier (Four) Furiere (Fur) Furier (Fur) Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) The higher NCO who administers a company's finances and subsistence.
OR-7a Hauptfeldweibel (Hptfw) Sergent-major chef (Sgtm chef) Sergente maggiore capo (sgtm capo) Capoprimsergent (cpsgt) Sergeant First Class
(SFC)
OR-8b Adjudant Unteroffizier (Adj Uof) Adjudant sous-officier (Adj Sof) Aiutante sottufficiale (aiut suff) Adjutant sutuffizier (Adj suff) Warrant Officer Class 2
OR-8a Stabsadjutant (Stabsadj) Adjudant d'état-major (adjut EM) Aiutante di stato maggiore (aiut SM) Adjutant da stab (Adj S)
OR-9b Hauptadjudant (Hptadj) Adjudant-major (Adjm) Aiutante maggiore (Aiut magg) Adjutant principal (Adj prin) Warrant Officer Class 1
OR-9a Chefadjutant (Chefadj) Adjudant-chef (Adj chef) Aiutante capo (Aiut capo) Chefadjutant (Schefadj)

Officers

Subaltern officers and Hauptleute (captains)


rank		 Rank insignia Name Description
Mounting loopCamouflageDeutschFrançaisItalianoRumantschEn equivaklent
OF-1b Leutnant
(Lt)		 Lieutenant
(Lt) 		Tenente
(Ten)		 Litenet
(Lt) 		Second lieutenant
OF-1a Oberleutnant
(Oblt)		 Premier-lieutenant
(Plt)		 Primo tenente
(I ten)		 Primlitenant
(Plt) 		First lieutenant
OF-2 Hauptmann
(Hptm)		 Capitaine
(Cap)		 Capitano
(Cap) 		Chapitani
(Chap) 		Captain

Staff officers, Specialist


rank		 Rank insignia Name Description
Mounting loopCamouflageDeutschFrançaisItalianoRumantschEn equivaklent
OF-3 Major
(Maj)		 Maggiore
(Magg)		 Maior
(Mai)		 Major
(Maj)		 Several assignments in a battalion´s staff (deputy S1-7), under special circumstances appointment to battalion commander, teacher or staff officer on a military academy, commander of a HQ company, staff officer in major units.
OF-4 Oberstleutnant
(Oberstlt)		 Lieutenant-colonel
(Lt col) 		Tenete colonnello
(Ten col)		 Litinent colonel
(Lt col) 		Lieutenant colonel
(Ltc)		 Battalion commander, staff officer in major units.
OF-5 Oberst
(Oberst)		 Colonnel
(Col)		 Colonnello
(Col)		 Colonel (Col) Under special circumstances appointment to battalion commander, deputy commander of abrigade, staff officer in major units.
OF1-5 Fachoffizier (FachOf) Officier spécialiste
(Of spéc)		 Ufficiale specialista (Uff spec) Uffizier spezialist
(Uff spez)		 Officer specialist "Officer specialist", variable from OF1 to OF5, all officer´s rank groups.

Higher staff officers

Higher staff officers wear black lampasses on the outside seam of tress uniform trousers.


rank		 Rank insignia Name Description
Mounting loopCamouflageKepiDeutschFrançaisItalianoRumantschEn equivaklent
OF-6 Brigadier (Br) Brigadiere Brigadier Brigadier general One-star rank, commander of a brigade, also military attaché
OF-7 Divisionär (Div) Divisionnaire (div) Divisionario Divisionär Major General Two-star rank, commander of territoroial region, also in an Army HQ or staff.
OF-8 Korpskommandant (KorKdt, KKdt) Commandant de corps (cdt C) Comandante di corpo Korpskommandant Lieutenant General Three-star rank, highest rank in peace time.

Commander in Chief


rank		 Rank insignia Name
de | fr | it | ru | en  		Description
Mounting loopCamouflageKepi
OF-9 General (Gen) The rank is only assigned during time of war, when the Federal Assembly chooses one general to command the entire Swiss military. Otherwise the word "general" is not used.[1]
général
generale
generale
Four-star rank

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 general remains subordinate to the Federal Council.

Shoulder board Waffenfarbe

Armored Corps Infantry Staff officers, engineers, intelligence, chaplaincy 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

References

  1. ↑ McPhee, John (1983-10-31). "La Place de la Concorde Suisse-I". The New Yorker. p. 50. Retrieved 22 July 2013.

External links

Media related to Military rank insignia of Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons