Pilot Officer
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:PO inisgnia.png Pilot Officer (Plt Off, PO or P/O in the RAF; PLTOFF in the RAAF) is the lowest substantive commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries, ranking only above Acting Pilot Officer and Officer Cadet. It ranks immediately below Flying Officer. It normally denotes an Officer who has elected to join as a non-graduate direct entrant Officer, as those with Degrees, usually only serve a week at the rank after graduation from the RAF College Cranwell.
It has a NATO ranking code of OF-1 and is equivalent to a Second Lieutenant in the British Army or the Royal Marines. The Royal Navy has no exactly equivalent rank, and a Pilot Officer is senior to a Royal Navy Midshipman, but junior to a Sub-Lieutenant.
The rank title does not imply that an officer in the rank of Pilot Officer is a pilot. Some Pilot Officers are aircrew, whilst many are ground branch officers.
The rank insignia consists of a thin blue band on slightly wider black band. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform.
Other air forces
The rank of Pilot Officer is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the Indian Air Force (IAF), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).