Rank insignia of the German armed forces

The ranks of the German armed forces, known collectively as the Bundeswehr, were set up by the President with the Anordnung des Bundespräsidenten über die Dienstgradbezeichnungen und die Uniform der Soldaten on the basis of section 4, paragraph 3 of the Soldatengesetz. The Bundesbesoldungsordnung regulates the promotion of soldiers. The 'ZdV-64/10 - Abkürzungen in der Bundeswehr' gives the abbreviations and a list of the abbreviations.

Rank structure

In all three branches of the German armed forces there are three career paths: officers (Offiziere), NCOs (Unteroffiziere) and enlisted men (Mannschaften). Officers are subdivided into Lieutenants (Leutnante), Captains (Hauptleute), Staff Officers (Stabsoffiziere) and Admirals (Admirale) or Generals (Generale). NCOs are divided into those with or without a lanyard (mit / ohne Portepee).

The names of ranks in the army and air force are identical, whilst those of the navy and of medical officers are different. Female soldiers hold the same rank as their male counterparts. A (w) is still sometimes added for women, but this is wholly without legal basis - the only additions allowed and maintained in ZDv 14/5 bzw. in the ZDv 20/7 are:

• UA / RUA - NCO Candidate (Unteroffizieranwärter) / Reserve NCO Candidate (Reserveunteroffizier-Anwärter)
• FA / RFA - Sergeant Candidate (Feldwebelanwärter) / Reserve Sergeant Candidate (Reservefeldwebel-Anwärter)
• OA / ROA - Officer Candidate (Offizieranwärter) / Reserve Officer Candidate (Reserveoffizier-Anwärter)
• SanOA - Medical Officer Candidate (Sanitätsoffizieranwärter)
• MilMusikOA - Military Musical Officer Candidate (Militärmusikoffizier-Anwärter)

Retired personnel

After retirement from active duty, former career soldiers are entitled to use their former rank with the addition of the abbreviation a.D. (außer Dienst = ret.)in correspondence.

Retired soldiers may obtain a permission to wear dress uniform on social occasions. While doing so, their uniform shows their non-active status by a supplemental twisted black-red-gold cord, worn on the lower end of the rank-epaulettes (Navy: Golden letter R on epaulettes or jacket sleeve). The uniform also shows the branch and the empblem of the last unit, the soldier has been serving in.

Reservists

Reservists serving as enlisted men, NCOs or Officers add d.R. (der Reserve = of the reserve) after their rank, but only in correspondence, not in speaking their rank. Like in the active duty, epaulettes demonstrate rank, supplemented by a colored cord which shows the branch the soldier is serving. Special additional cord colors are: Silver: Offizieranwärter (Officer Candidate) Gold: Feldwebelanwärter (Sergeant Candidate) Black-red-gold: Reservist außerhalb Dienstverhältnis (Reservist without employment) Officer, Sergeant or NCO candidates in the reserve add ROA, RFA or RUA, while active officer, Sergeant or NCO candidates add OA, FA or UA. Reservists have the same promotion periods and service times as active soldiers. Reservists can go through a part of military exercises when they are summoned to join a unit.

Table of ranks

Army and air force

Rank insignia are worn on both shoulders.

Officers

Shoulder insignia	Abbr.	Rank (English Language Equivalent)	NATO equivalent
	- Gen	General (General)	OF-9
	GL GenLt	Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)	OF-8
	GM GenMaj	Generalmajor (Major General)	OF-7
	BG BrigGen	Brigadegeneral (Brigadier General)	OF-6
	O Oberst	Oberst (Colonel)	OF-5
	OTL Oberstlt	Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)	OF-4
	M Maj	Major (Major)	OF-3
	SH StHptm	Stabshauptmann (Staff Captain; rare rank, only in specialist careers)	OF-2
	H Hptm	Hauptmann (Captain)	OF-2
	OL OLt	Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant)	OF-1
	L Lt	Leutnant (Second Lieutenant)	OF-1
officer candidates			NCO equivalent
	OFR OFähnr	Oberfähnrich (Senior Ensign)	Hauptfeldwebel
	FR Fähnr	Fähnrich (Ensign)	Feldwebel
	FJ Fhj	Fahnenjunker	Unteroffizier
	G (OA) Gefr (OA)	Gefreiter (Offizieranwärter)	(OA) may be combined with any enlisted rank

Officer education in the army

Career officers usually start out as enlisted personnel with the lowest rank in one of the three Officer Candidate Battalions of the German Army located in Hammelburg, Idar-Oberstein and Munster. After six months of officer candidate training course in these Battalions, containing basic military drill, military law and history, the officer candidates proceed with the Officer's Course 1.

These are held at the Officer's School in Dresden for three months, followed by a 10-week period for training English and three months of active service, the so-called Truppenkommando as regular soldier in a military unit.

After 15 months, the officer candidates attend one of the two Universities of the German Federal Armed Forces in Munich and Hamburg to attain a Master's degree after three years of study.

After promotion to Leutnant (second lieutenant) they continue with the Officer's Course 2 at the Army Officer's School and the Officer's Course 3 at their respective branch-schools.

Furthermore they attend required special training courses like a survival or driving school for the different vehicles of their branch.

When this six-year-training is concluded, the officers are promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) and transferred to their army-units for regular service.

Officer education in the air force

In the air force the career starts at the air force academy in Fürstenfeldbruck (Fursty) near Munich. The basic officers training consists of 11 months of basic training, military drill, theoretical education and a few weeks in a Luftwaffenausbildungsregiment (air force training regiment) as a deputy instructor with the rank of Obergefreiter OA. With the completion of the Offizierschule der Luftwaffe (OSLw) they are promoted to Fahnenjunker and either start with their studies at one of the two University in Munich and Hamburg or start with their basic flight training in the OSLw.

Field grade officers

In order to be promoted to Major (major; a rank only career officers can achieve), the officers have to complete successfully a course called Stabsoffizierlehrgang (SOL) (field grade officer basic course). It takes a minimum of 10 years of officer's service to become a major. Oberstleutnant '(lt.-col.) is the standard final rank for career officers which can be awarded after 17 years of service. The salary of this rank depends on the respective function (A 14 or A 15 in the German salary scheme). Oberst (colonel) is the highest field grade rank (promotion requires a minimum of 17 years of officer's service, i.e. 20 years of service overall).

Officers in General Staff Service

About 1.5 percent of each crew are chosen to take part in the Generalstabslehrgang (general staff course) at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr (military academy) at Hamburg. This course lasts two years after the completion of which the participants put a "i.G." after their rank, meaning im Generalstabsdienst (in general staff service). Having completed this course, the minimum rank those officers achieve is usually Oberst (colonel). The Generalstabslehrgang is a necessary requirement for the promotion to a General's rank.

Non-commissioned officers

Shoulder insignia	Abbr.	Rank	NATO equivalent
	OSF OStFw	Oberstabsfeldwebel	OR9
	SF StFw	Stabsfeldwebel	OR8
	HF HptFw	Hauptfeldwebel	OR7 / OR8
	OF OFw	Oberfeldwebel	OR6
	F Fw	Feldwebel	OR6
	SU StUffz	Stabsunteroffizier	OR5
	U Uffz	Unteroffizier	OR5
NCO candidates
	G (FA) Gefr (FA)	Gefreiter (Feldwebelanwärter)	OR5
	G (UA) Gefr (UA)	Gefreiter (Unteroffizieranwärter)	OR2
	(UA) may be combined with any enlisted rank

NCOs (Unteroffiziere) play an important role in the Heer as they are entrusted the command of most sub-company units. They often are referred to as the backbone of the army. Especially Feldwebels and above carry similar responsibilities officers have. This is largely due to the German military doctrine of Auftragstaktik: German orders usually do not include specific instructions, but rather a task, the available time and the available means. This gives leaders of smaller units a great deal of freedom and responsibility.

Since the ancient time of Prussian Army, the non-commissioned officers or subofficers of German armies are distinguished into a) Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee (sub-officers without lanyard) b) Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (sub-officers with lanyard)

These terms originate from the tradidion that prussian NCOs from the rank of Feldwebel upwards were entitled to bear a lanyard on their sabre.

Soldiers have the possibility to start with the rank of an Unteroffizier or even Stabsunteroffizier if they already have a civil apperenticeship which qualifies them for any army-equivalent position. Civil master craftsman of army-relevant jobs may directly start as Feldwebel. The army decides depending on the availability of positions.

The promotion to Oberfeldwebel is regularly given after one year as Feldwebel. Any higher rank requires a certain amount of years in their previous rank and performance. Soldiers serving for at least 12 years have the chance to become a Hauptfeldwebel.

These rules apply for navy sub-officers in the same way.

Enlisted personnel

Shoulder insignia	Abbr.	Rank	NATO equivalent
	OSG OStGefr	Oberstabsgefreiter	OR4
	SG StGefr	Stabsgefreiter	OR4
	HG HptGefr	Hauptgefreiter	OR3
	OG OGefr	Obergefreiter	OR3
	G Gefr	Gefreiter	OR2
	S	Soldat (Heer) Flieger (Luftwaffe)	OR1

Enlisted personnel (Mannschaften) are largely made up of conscripts serving their six months of mandatory service. Starting as Schütze or trooper a promotion to Gefreiter is mandatory after basic training (first three months of service). After an additional three months of service (usually consisting of special training required for their branch of service) any soldier is promoted to Obergefreiter unless they fail even most basic requirements. Conscripts leaving the army after nine months of service may be promoted to Hauptgefreiter der Reserve (lance-corporal in reserve) effective the day of their discharge to award outstanding performance. Longer serving enlisted soldiers will receive their Hauptgefreiter promotion after nine months to award outstanding performance or after twelve months of service.

To be promoted Stabsgefreiter a soldier requires at least three years of enlisted service. With higher qualification it is also possible to be promoted to Hauptgefreiter by the first day. Soldiers may opt to sign long-term contracts as enlisted soldiers, but most enlisted soldiers serving long terms in fact applied for NCO careers but failed their training requirements and opted to serve their term as enlisted soldiers rather than being released from service immediately.

To be promoted to Oberstabsgefreiter a soldier requires at least four years of enlisted service.

The most important distinction between NCOs and enlisted men is that the latter cannot give any order even to lower-ranking soldiers unless specific circumstances apply (e.g. while on guard duty or to soldiers ordered to do so by their regular chain of command).

The rank Soldat is replaced by ranks specific to their Truppengattung (branch of service):

• Flieger (Flg) Airman
• Funker (Fu) Signaller
• Grenadier (Gren) Grenadier
• Jäger (Jg) Ranger (lit. Hunter)
• Kanonier (Kan) Gunner/Bombardier
• Pionier (Pi) Engineer
• Panzerfunker (PzFu) Mech. Radioman
• Panzergrenadier (PzGren) Mech. Grenadeer
• Panzerjäger (PzJg) Tank Destroyer/Hunter
• Panzerkanonier (PzKan) Armour Gunner
• Panzerpionier (PzPi) Armour Pioneer
• Panzerschütze (PzSchtz) Tanker/Armour Rifleman
• Panzersoldat (PzSdt) Tanker
• Sanitätssoldat (SanSdt) Medic
• Schütze (Schtz) Rifleman (catch-all rank for supply and other branches)

Navy

Notable cases

Medical officers

Promotion

Generalmajor and Generalleutnant

Naval officers

External links

• Uniformen