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Table of Ranks and Responsibilities
Most
discussions of military ranks in books or online tend to ignore the
fact that these ranks are intended to be held by men performing
specific functions within a unit for which that rank is necessary.
Every army couples rank structure and appointments differently, and as
can be seen below, even the Canadian Army has changed the way it handles these matters over the years.
The discussion of responsibility is in general terms and refers
to textbook practices; in reality, field units in time of war rarely
saw action at full strength, and junior ranking soldiers and officers
were often placed in positions not normally permitted in peacetime or
normal circumstances.
These tables, then, are merely a guide to intended practice,
but may still serve to illuminate basic questions of authority and
responsibility, and how the ranks of the Canadian Army might compare to
other nations. Only when one understands what responsibilities were
usually assigned to soldiers holding these ranks can an accurate
comparison to other militaries be made. One then finds that a Canadian
corporal in the Second World War
actually wielded as much authority as a US Army sergeant, for example,
in that both commanded a section or squad of 10 to 12 men. The examples
given below are for an infantry battalion; there were different
appointments and titles for officers and men in other types of units,
such as artillery, armoured, or engineer regiments, as well as units of
the supporting arms.
First World War
Rank Tables
Second World War
Rank Table
Responsibility Table
Responsibilities in an Infantry Unit
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Size of Unit
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Required Leadership
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Typically Led by
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Section
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Corporal
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Corporal, but lower ranks could lead a section. Typically, a Lance Corporal was second in command.
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Platoon
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Lieutenant or WO III
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After 1940, the WO III
rank was abolished and most of these WO IIIs were commissioned as
officers. An officer was referred to as "platoon commander" while a WO
III in the same position was called a "Platoon Sergeant Major" or PSM.
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Company
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Captain or Major
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Captains and Majors were generally found in
charge of companies; acting company commanders were usually given
temporary rank to match their appointment.
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Battalion
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Lieutenant-Colonel
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As with company commanders, lower ranking
officers commanding battalions were usually promoted to acting rank
fairly quickly in the Canadian Army.
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Key Appointments
The rank system has evolved over the years to permit different
soldiers with different functions within a unit to operate with the
proper level of authority. Some ranks will only be found once within a
unit, other ranks are held by soldiers performing many functions.
Appointments in Infantry Units and Sub-Units
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Rank
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Appointment
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Duties
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Battalion
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Lieutenant-Colonel
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Commanding Officer (CO)
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Each battalion has exactly one CO, almost always ranked
lieutenant-colonel, though acting commanders of lower rank were
sometimes found until a man had been confirmed in the position, or if
he was only replacing the lieutenant-colonel temporarily. The CO, like
the captain of a naval vessel, had ultimate authority and responsibility
for his battalion.
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Major
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Battalion Second in Command
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The second in command of the battalion was usually ranked as a major.
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Captain
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Adjutant
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The Adjutant was responsible for the administration of the battalion.
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Captain
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Quartermaster
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Responsible for the maintenance of adequate supplies of all kinds, including clothing, food, ammunition, water, fuel, etc.
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Captain
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Medical Officer
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Responsible for the unit's medical section, establishing a
Regimental Aid Post (RAP) in action and overseeing the flow of wounded
men down the chain of medical care. In garrison, treated the sick and
certified men fit or unfit for duty.
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WO I
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Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)
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The only WO I in the battalion; responsible for discipline,
dress and deportment in garrison, and in the field oversaw the handling
of prisoners of war, and various duties including the flow of
ammunition forward and wounded men to the rear.
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WO II
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Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS)
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Kept regimental stores of all sorts, established fuel,
ammunition, water and ration points, kept supplies flowing forward to
the companies.
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Company
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Major
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Officer Commanding (OC)
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The commander of the companies in
a battalion (during the Second World War
these numbered six; four rifle companies, a Support Company, and a
Headquarters Company) were ranked either as majors or captains; acting
company commanders were usually given temporary rank to match their
appointment.
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WO II
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Company Sergeant Major (CSM)
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Senior NCO in the rifle company, maintained discipline and
administration in the company, supervised the flow of ammunition,
wounded, rations, ammunition, prisoners to and from the front.
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Staff Sergeant
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Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS)
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Maintained company level stores and kept necessities flowing to the fighting troops such as ammunition, fuel, food, water, etc.
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Platoon
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Lieutenant
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Platoon Commander
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Most platoon commanders were lieutenants. The Carrier Platoon
was intended to be commanded by a captain. Officers in training were
ranked Second Lieutenant and usually promoted to Lieutenant when posted
to a field unit. (See also Platoon Sergeant Major.
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Sergeant
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Platoon Second in Command
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The platoon second in command, or Platoon Sergeant, performed
the duties of a platoon commander in his absence. Under the LOB system,
he might be required to lead the platoon while the commander was left
out of battle.
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Corporal
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Section Commander
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An infantry section was led by a corporal. At full strength by 1944, the section comprised 10 men.
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Lance Corporal
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Section Second in Command
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The section second in command usually led the three man Bren Gun group in action.
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Many of the ranks in the table above were associated with specific
appointments - a Warrant Officer I Class, for example, was the rank
held by a man appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of a battalion. The
RSM was the senior enlisted man. Staff Sergeants were generally found
in the position of Company Quartermaster Sergeant; no other staff
sergeants were found in an infantry battalion. The WO II was most
commonly found in an infantry battalion as either the Regimental
Quartermaster Sergeant, or as the Company Sergeant Major of one of the
companies.
A Lance Sergeant
was a corporal wearing three stripes and performing a sergeant's
duties; for example, some establishments called for a six-gun Anti Tank
platoon to have three of the guns commanded by sergeants, with the
other three commanded by lance sergeants.
Post-Unification
Rank Table
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Canadian Forces Table of Ranks
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General Officers
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Officers
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WOs
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NCOs
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Privates
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General
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Lieutenant-General
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Major-General
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Brigadier-General
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Colonel
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Lieutenant-Colonel
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Major
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Captain
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Lieutenant
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2nd Lieutenant
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Chief Warrant Officer
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Master Warrant Officer
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Warrant Officer
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Sergeant
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Master Corporal1
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Corporal
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Private (Trained)
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Private (Basic)
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1. Not a rank, but an appointment.
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Appointments in Infantry Units and Sub-Units
The rank system evolved over decades to permit different soldiers
with different functions within a unit to operate with the proper level
of authority. Some ranks were only found once within a unit, other
ranks were held by soldiers performing many different functions. The
following is a list of the major appointments in an infantry battalion.
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Rank
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Appointment
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Duties
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Battalion
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Lieutenant-Colonel
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Commanding Officer (CO)
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Each battalion had exactly one CO, almost always ranked
lieutenant colonel, though acting commanders of lower rank were
sometimes found until confirmed in the position, or if only replacing
the lieutenant colonel temporarily. The CO, like the captain of a naval
vessel, had ultimate authority and responsibility for the battalion.
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Major
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Deputy Commanding Officer
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The second in command of the battalion was usually ranked as a major.
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Captain
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Adjutant |
The Adjutant was responsible for the administration of the battalion.
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Captain
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Quartermaster
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Responsible for the maintenance of adequate supplies of all kinds, including clothing, food, ammunition, water, fuel, etc.
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Captain
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Medical Officer
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Responsible for the Unit Medical Section (UMS).
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Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)
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Chief Warrant Officer
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The only CWO in the battalion; responsible for discipline,
dress and deportment in garrison, and in the field oversaw the handling
of prisoners of war, and various duties including the flow of
ammunition forward and wounded men to the rear.
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Master Warrant Officer
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Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS)
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Kept regimental stores of all sorts, established fuel,
ammunition, water and ration points, kept supplies flowing forward to
the companies.
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Infantry Company
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Major
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Officer Commanding (OC)
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The commander of a company within a battalion.
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Master Warrant Officer
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Company Sergeant Major (CSM)
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Senior NCO in the rifle company, maintained discipline and
administration in the company, supervised the flow of ammunition,
wounded, rations, ammunition, prisoners to and from the front.
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Warrant Officer
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Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS)
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Maintained company level stores and kept necessities flowing to the fighting troops such as ammunition, fuel, food, water, etc.
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Infantry Platoon
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Captain
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Platoon Commander
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Platoon commanders in the post-unification CF came to be ranked as Captains.
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Warrant Officer
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Platoon Second in Command
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The platoon second in command, or Platoon Warrant, performed the duties of a platoon commander in his absence.
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Sergeant
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Section Commander
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By the end of the 20th Century, an infantry section consisted
of eight men as opposed to the WW II 10-man counterpart, and was
commanded by a sergeant rather than a corporal. Armament consisted of
two C9 light machine guns and six C7 rifles (two of these fitted with
M203 grenade launchers).
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Master Corporal
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Section Second in Command
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The section second in command was usually a Master Corporal;
appointment to this rank required the Junior Leader Course/Infantry
Section Command.
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Complete Table of Pre-Unification and Post-Unification Ranks of All Services
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Canadian
Forces Maritime Command |
Royal
Canadian Navy |
Canadian
Forces (Force Mobile Command, Air Command) |
Royal
Canadian Air Force |
Canadian
Army |
Flag & General Officers |
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Admiral |
Admiral |
General |
Air Chief Marshal |
General |
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Vice Admiral |
Vice Admiral |
Lieutenant-General |
Air Marshal |
Lieutenant-General |
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Rear Admiral |
Rear Admiral |
Major-General |
Air Vice Marshal |
Major-General |
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Commodore |
Commodore |
Brigadier General |
Air Commodore |
Brigadier |
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Officers |
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Captain |
Captain |
Colonel |
Group Captain |
Colonel |
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Commander |
Commander |
Lieutenant-Colonel |
Wing Commander |
Lieutenant-Colonel |
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Lieutenant Commander |
Lieutenant Commander |
Major |
Squadron Leader |
Major |
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Lieutenant |
Lieutenant |
Captain |
Flight Lieutenant |
Captain |
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Sub Lieutenant |
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Lieutenant |
Flying Officer |
Lieutenant |
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Acting Sub Lieutenant |
Sub Lieutenant |
Second Lieutenant |
Pilot Officer |
Second Lieutenant |
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Naval Cadet |
Midshipman |
Officer Cadet |
Officer Cadet |
Officer Cadet |
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Non-Commissioned personnel |
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Chief Petty Officer 1st Class |
Chief Petty Officer 1st Class |
Chief Warrant Officer |
Warrant Officer Class I |
Warrant Officer Class I |
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Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Master Warrant Officer |
Warrant Officer Class II |
Warrant Officer Class II |
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Petty Officer 1st Class |
Petty Officer 1st Class |
Warrant Officer |
Flight Sergeant |
Staff Sergeant |
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Sergeant |
Sergeant |
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Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Sergeant |
Corporal |
Corporal |
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Master Seaman |
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Master Corporal |
Leading Aircraftsman |
Lance Corporal |
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Leading Seaman |
Leading Seaman |
Corporal |
Aircraftsman |
Private |
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Able Seaman |
Able Seaman |
Private (Trained) |
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Ordinary Seaman |
Ordinary Seaman |
Private (Basic) |
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