Commander is a
military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.
Commander as a military rank
Commander is a
military rank used in many
navies and some
air forces but is very rarely used as a rank in
armies. The title (originally "Master and Commander") originated in the 18th century to describe naval
Lieutenants who commanded smaller (unrated) ships such as ship-sloops or brig-sloops. Officers who held command retained this title only during their period in command of that particular vessel; when they left that vessel, they reverted to their
substantive rank of Lieutenant. The Royal Navy shortened "Master and Commander" to just "Commander" in 1794, when it became a formal (permanent) rank; however, the term "Master and Commander" remained (unofficially) in common parlance for several years.
A corresponding rank in some navies is
Frigate Captain. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank as been assigned the
NATO rank code of OF-4.
Royal Navy
Insignia of a Royal Navy Commander
A commander in the
Royal Navy is above the rank of
lieutenant-commander, below the rank of
captain, and 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.
Royal Australian Navy
A Commander in the
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is identical in description to a Commander in the British
Royal Navy. RAN Chaplains who are Division 1, 2 and 3 (of 5 divisions) have the equivalent rank standing of Commanders. This means that to Officers and NCOs below the rank of Commander, Major or Squadron Leader, the Chaplain is a Commander. To those Officers ranked higher than Commander, the Chaplain is subordinate. Although this equivlancy exists, RAN Chaplains who are Division 1, 2 and 3 do not actually wear the rank of Commander, and they hold no command privilege.
Royal Air Force
Since the British
Royal Air Force's middle-ranking officers' designations are modelled after the
Royal Navy's, the term
wing commander is used as a rank and is equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the army or commander in the navy. The rank is above
Squadron Leader and below
Group Captain.
In the now defunct
Royal Naval Air Service, which amalgamated with the
Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force 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.
Canadian Navy
United States
Commander as a military title
British Army
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.
New Zealand Army
The usage is similar to the
United States Army, with the term "commander" usually applying to very senior officers only, typically at Divisional level (Major General).
Spanish Armed Forces and Guardia Civil
In the
Spanish Army, the
Spanish Air Force and the
Marine Infantry, the term commander is the literal translation of "comandante", the Spanish equivalent of a Commonwealth
Major. The
Guardia Civil shares the Army ranks, and the officer commanding a house-garrison (usually a NCO or a lieutenant, depending on the size) is addressed as the "Comandante de Puesto" (Post Commander).
United States Army
In the
United States Army, the term "commander" is officially applied to the
commanding officer of army units; hence, there are
company commanders,
battalion commanders,
brigade commanders, and so forth. At the highest levels of
U.S. military command structure, "commander" also refers to what used to be called
commander-in-chief, or CINC, until
October 24,
2002, although the term CINC is still used in casual speech.
United States Air Force
In the
Air Force, the term "commander" (abbreviated "CC" in office symbols, i.e. "OG/CC" for "Operations Group Commander") is officially applied to the commanding officer of an Air Force unit; hence, there are flight commanders, squadron commanders, group commanders, wing commanders, and so forth. In rank, a
flight commander is typically a
Lieutanant or
Captain, 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.
An "Aircraft Commander" is also designated for all flights of United States Air Force Aircraft. This individual must be a pilot and an officer that has graduated from an formal aircraft commander course and is designated on flight orders by the unit commander for that particular flight. This individual is in command of all military personnel on the aircraft regardless of rank (even individuals that out-rank the aircraft commander).
Commander as a non-military rank or title
NASA rank
In NASA spacecraft missions since the beginning of Project Gemini, one crew member on each spacecraft is designated as Mission Commander. The Commander is the captain of the ship, and makes all real-time critical decisions on behalf of the crew and in coordination with the Mission Control Center (MCC).
Aviation rank
In aviation the Flight Captain is also known as the Commander.
British police rank
Within the
British Police, Commander is a
chief officer rank in the two police forces responsible for law enforcement within
London, the
Metropolitan Police and
City of London Police. In both forces, the rank is senior to
Chief Superintendent, in the Metropolitan Police it is junior to
Deputy Assistant Commissioner and in the City of London Police it is junior to
Assistant Commissioner. In forces outside of London, the rank equates to
Assistant Chief Constable.
The Metropolitan Police introduced the rank in 1946, after they split the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner with senior DACs keeping the rank and title with junior ones being regraded as Commanders. The Metropolitan Police also had the rank of
Deputy Commander, ranking just below that of Commander, between 1946 and 1968. In addition, officers in charge of policing each of the
London's boroughs are given the title "Borough Commander". However, such officers do not hold the actual rank of Commander but instead hold the rank of
Chief Superintendent. An exception to this is the Borough Commander of Westminster, who is actually a Commander and not a Chief Superintendent due to the size, complexity and high-profile nature of the borough.
Australian police rank
In Australia, Commander is a rank used by the Victorian, Tasmanian, Western Australian, and South Australian police forces. The insignia consists of a crown over three Bath Stars in a triangular formation, equivalent to a
Brigadier in the army. In all four forces, it is junior to the rank of
Assistant Commissioner, and senior to the rank of
Chief Superintendent, with the exception of Western Australia where it is senior to the rank of
Superintendent.
United States police rank
The
Los Angeles Police Department and the
San Francisco Police Department are two of the few American police departments which use this rank. A Commander in the LAPD is equivalent to an
Inspector in other US departments (such as the
NYPD); the LAPD rank was originally called Inspector as well, but was changed in 1974 to Commander after senior officers voiced a preference for the more
military-sounding rank.
Commander is also utilized by larger
Sheriff's Departments in the United States. The rank usually falls between Chief Deputy and Captain, which is three positions removed from the sheriff. The Clark County Sheriff's Office in southwest Washington state uses the rank of Commander. It falls between the rank of Sergeant and the rank of Branch Chief. The insignia worn by a Clark County Sheriff's Office Commander is a gold oak leaf, the same insignia worn by a
Major in the Army, or the Air Force, or the Marine Corps.
The
Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department (
MPDC) also uses the rank of Commander. The rank falls between those of Inspector and Assistant Chief.
The Rochester, NY Police Department (RPD) uses the rank of Commander. Higher than Captain and below Deputy Chief, the rank is achieved by appointment. Commander is the rank held by the two patrol division heads and other Commanders fill various administrative roles. The St. Paul Police Department (MN) is another police force that uses the rank of commander. In the St. Paul Police department, Commanders serve as the chief of the district/unit that they oversee.
Many police departments in the midwest (including the
Chicago Police Department) use the rank of commander. It is equivalent to a lieutenant in most other departments, being above a sergeant and below a deputy chief or captain.
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.
Incident Command System
In the
Incident Command System the Incident Commander is in charge of the response to an emergency. The title may pass from person to person as the incident develops.
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 common usage
"Commander" may sometimes be used by laymen, usually applied to the person who is accountable for and holds authority over a group or the attempts of a group to achieve a common goal.
In fiction
- Keith Murphey & Robert King’s fictional character Andreamos is referred to as “CAG, The Commander” a former commander of Alpha Battalion C of the planet Arkayus in the comic book story by the Comicbook Artists Guild.
- In V for Vendetta, the Voice of London, Lewis Prothero is Commander Prothero.
- In the computer game World of Warcraft, Commander is a retired military rank of the Alliance. Few players still have the rank of Commander.
- In the computer game X-Com: Ufo Defense, Commander is the highest rank achievable by X-Com soldiers, and only one soldier may hold the rank of Commander at any one time.
- In the strategy game series Command & Conquer, the player is always referred to as Commander by most characters in the series. Similarly, the player's avatar (and leader of their respective armies) in Total Annihilation is a unique unit known only as the Arm/Core Commander.
- In Soul Calibur III's mini-game, Chronicles of the Sword, the young cadet is promoted to the rank of commander after he/she defeats the General in a final test at the Academy.
- In season 5 of TV show JAG, Harmon Rabb is promoted to Commander.
- In the Infinity Wards multi platform game Call of Duty 4, Commander is the highest rank to achieve in Online Mode.
- In the game Mass Effect, the main protagonist, John Shepard, is ranked as Commander.
- In the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Mat Cauthon's past lives including his own were always commanders of the best armies that ever existed.
- In Call Of Duty 4 online "Commander" is the last rank earned (Lv.55)
See also
