Commander
From Free net encyclopedia
←Older revision | Newer revision→
Image:Commander insignia.gif Commander is a military rank used in many navies but not generally in armies or air forces. It is below Captain and above Lieutenant-Commander. The rank evolved in the 18th and early 19th centuries and was originally known as Master and Commander. The Royal Navy shortened Master and Commander to Commander in 1814.
A commander in the Royal Navy and the United States Navy is equivalent in rank to a lieutenant-colonel in the army. A commander may command a frigate, destroyer, submarine, aviation squadron or shore installation, or may serve on a staff. A commander who commands a unit may be referred to as "Captain" as a courtesy title. A unit commander may also be informally referred to as "skipper."
In the highest levels of U.S. military command structure, "commander" refers to what used to be called commander-in-chief, or CINC, until October 24, 2002 (CINC is still used in casual speech). This is usually referred to with the area of which the officer is commander. For instance, General Tommy Franks was CENTCOM commander until July 7, 2003.
In the British Army, the term "commander" is officially applied to the non-commissioned officer in charge of a section (section commander), vehicle (vehicle commander) or gun (gun commander), to the subaltern or captain commanding a platoon (platoon commander), or to the brigadier commanding a brigade (brigade commander). Other officers commanding units are usually referred to as the Officer Commanding (OC), Commanding Officer (CO), General Officer Commanding (GOC), or General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-C), depending on rank and position, although the term "commander" may be applied to them informally.
Contents |
Royal Air Force rank
Since the Royal Air Force's middle-ranking officers' designations are modelled after the Royal Navy's, the rank equivalent to Lieutenant-Colonel (Army) or Commander (Navy) is called Wing Commander (ranking between Squadron Leader and Group Captain).
Royal Naval Air Service
In the Royal Naval Air Service, which amalgamated with the Royal Flying Corps to form the RAF in 1918, pilots held appointments as well as their normal Royal Navy ranks, and wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. Flight Commander wore a star above a Lieutenant's two rank stripes, Squadron Commander wore two stars above two rank stripes (less than eight years' seniority) or two-and-a-half rank stripes (over eight years seniority), and Wing Commander wore three rank stripes. The rank stripes had the usual Royal Navy curl, and were surmounted by an eagle.
US Air Force duty titles
Duty titles of many commanding officers in the United States Air Force are similar to ranks in the RAF. These duty titles are not ranks, but these titles convey relative power and importance nonetheless. The RAF ranks should not be confused with the titles of the following USAF duty positions: Squadron Commander, Group Commander, and Wing Commander - listed in ascending order. A Squadron Commander is typically a Major or Lieutenant Colonel, a Group Commander is typically a Colonel, and a Wing Commander is typically a senior Colonel or a Brigadier General.
British police rank
Commander is also a senior police rank in the two London police forces, the City of London Police, and the Metropolitan Police Service. It is senior to Chief Superintendent in both forces and junior to Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police and Assistant Commissioner in the City of London Police. It equates to Assistant Chief Constable in other forces. The Metropolitan Police introduced the rank in 1946, when they split the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner (with senior DACs keeping that rank title and junior DACs being regraded as Commanders). The Metropolitan Police also had a rank of Deputy Commander, ranking just below Commander, between 1946 and 1968.
American police rank
The San Francisco police department is one of the few American police departments which use this rank. A Commander in the SFPD is equivalent to an Inspector in other US departments (such as the NYPD); the SFPD rank was originally called Inspector as well, but was changed to Commander after senior officers voiced a preference for the more military-sounding rank.
Commander is also used as a title in certain circumstances, such as the Commander of a squad of Detectives, who would usually be of the rank of Lieutenant.
Military and Chivalric Orders
The title of Commander is used in the Military Orders, such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, for a member senior to a Knight. The title of Knight Commander is often used to denote an even higher rank. These conventions are also used by most of the continental orders of chivalry. The United Kingdom uses different classifications.
In most of the British Orders of Knighthood, the grade of Knight (or Dame) Commander is the lowest grade of knighthood, but is above the grade of Companion (which does not carry a knighthood). In the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire, the grade of Commander is senior to the grade of Lieutenant or Officer respectively, but junior to that of Knight or Dame Commander. In the British Order of St. John, a Commander ranks below a Knight. (However, Knights of the Order of St. John are not called "Sir.")
In fiction
- The fictional James Bond holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy.
- The fictional Horatio Hornblower holds the rank of Commander in Hornblower and the Hotspur.
- In Star Trek, Spock, William T. Riker, Deanna Troi, Beverly Crusher, Benjamin Sisko and many secondary characters have held the rank of Commander in Starfleet. Although Geordi LaForge, Data, Worf and Chakotay were Lieutenant Commanders, they were usually addressed as "Commander" in accordance with naval tradition.
- The book Master and Commander and subsequent Hollywood film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, although Aubrey actually holds the rank of Captain in the film and most of the novels.
- In the Star Wars films, the rank of Commander is commonly used among the Imperial Navy.
- The fictional Honor Harrington holds the rank of Commander in the first book written about her by David Weber (at the end of the first book she is promoted to Captain of the List).
- In the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe (original and remake, first season), the character Adama holds the rank of Commander in the Military Forces of the Twelve Colonies, senior to Colonel and junior to Admiral. Adama is in command of a large vessel and support fleet, so the rank is therefore likely to equate more to a Commodore or Rear Admiral (lower half) in real navies.
- In the real-time strategy game Total Annihilation, the Commander is the starting unit, responsible for primary construction projects.
See also
Template:UK officer ranks Template:US officer ranksde:Fregattenkapitän es:Comandante pl:Komandor porucznik sv:Kommendörkapten fr:Capitaine de frégate