Major

Common anglophone military ranks
Officers
Seamen, soldiers and airmen

This article is about the military rank. For college majors, see Academic major. For use in music, see Major and minor. For other uses, see Major (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Mayor.

Major is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world.

Background[]

When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank senior to that of an army captain, and one rank subordinate or below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks.^[1]

Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers. In some militaries, notably France and Ireland, the rank of major is referred to as commandant, while in others it is known as captain-major.

When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including general-major or major general, denoting a low-level general officer, and sergeant major, denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) of a military unit.Template:Disputed inline The term major can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as in pipe-major or drum-major.

Historically, the rank designation develops in English in the 1640s, taken from French majeur, in turn a shortening of sergent-majeur, which at the time designated a higher rank than at present.

The rank of major is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures, such as the Pennsylvania State Police, New York State Police, New Jersey State Police, and several others. As with a military major, this rank is most commonly the next rank above captain. The rank is equivalent to an inspector or commander in other large police departments or to the UK rank of superintendent.

Links to major ranks by country[]

Alphabetically sorted by name of country:

Major (Brazil)
Major (Canada)
Majuri (Finland)
Major (Germany)
Tagmatarchis (Greece; Ταγματάρχης, abbr. Τχης)
Major (India)
Majoras (Lithuania)
Majoor (The Netherlands)
Major (Pakistan)
Major (Poland)
Major (Sri Lanka)
Major (Sweden)
Major (United Kingdom)
Major (United States)

Insignia[]

Insignia of army majors[]

Insignia of air force majors[]

Insignia of naval infantry majors[]

Ranks equivalent to major by country[]

Alphabetically sorted by name of country or sovereign state

Jagran (جګړن) (Afghanistan)
China
- 少校 (Shao xiao) (PR China)
- 少校 (Shaoxiao) (Republic of China/Taiwan)
Bojnik (Croatia)
Ra'Ed (رائد) (Egypt and most Arab League member countries)
Commandant (France)
Germany:
- Sturmbannführer (Schutzstaffel and paramilitary organisations of Nazi Germany)
Tagmatarchis (Ταγματάρχης) (Greece and Cyprus)
Őrnagy (Hungary)
Mayor (Indonesia)
Sargord (سرگرد) (Iran)
Commandant (Ireland)
Rav seren (רב סרן) (Israel)
少佐 (Shousa) (Japan)
Mejar (Malaysia)
Хошууч (Mongolia)
소좌 (North Korea)
Magat (Philippines)
Mayor (Russia)
Major (Serbia)
Gaashaanle (Somalia)
소령 (South Korea)
Comandante (Spain)
Binbaşı (Turkey)
Thiếu tá (Vietnam)

References[]

^ "Army Major". https://www.Military-Ranks.org/army/major. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

[Military-Ranks.org-1] "Army Major". https://www.Military-Ranks.org/army/major. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

[1]

Common anglophone military ranks
Navies	Armies	Air forces
Officers
Admiral of the fleet	Marshal or Field marshal	Marshal of the air force
Admiral	General	Air chief marshal
Vice admiral	Lieutenant general	Air marshal
Rear admiral	Major general	Air vice-marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group captain
Commander	Lieutenant colonel	Wing commander
Lieutenant commander	Major or Commandant	Squadron leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying officer
Ensign	Second lieutenant	Pilot officer
Midshipman	Officer cadet	Officer cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Warrant officer	Sergeant major or Warrant officer	Warrant officer
Petty officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading seaman	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman