Army

The SA Army

South African Army

The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910.The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies...

 was formed in 1912 as the Union Defence Force

Union Defence Force

The Union Defence Force may refer to a former or current military organization:* the South African Army from 1912 to 1957* the military of the United Arab Emirates...

. It was given its present name in 1951. The rank system is derived from that of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

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Officers

General officers

• Field Marshal (1923–c1950)
• General (1914– ) (called "commandant-general
  Commandant-General
  Commandant-General is a rank in several counties and is generally equivalent to that of Commandant.-Italy:Comandante generale , in Fascist Italy's MVSN, was the title of the head of the Blackshirts, held by Benito Mussolini from 1922 to 1943.Nowadays, is the title held by the commander of the...
  
  " 1956–68)
• Lieutenant-General (1914– )
• Major-General (1914– ) (called "combat general" 1960–68)
• Brigadier-General (1912–40, 1998– )

Senior officers

• Brigadier (1937–98) (called "colonel-commandant" 1937–40)
• Colonel (1912– )
• Chief Commandant (1968–70)
• Lieutenant-Colonel (1912– ) (called "commandant" 1950–94)
• Major (1912– )

Junior officers

• Captain (1912– )
• Lieutenant (1912– ) (called "field cornet
  Field Cornet
  A Field Cornet was a South African term for either a local government official or a military officer.Initially, the term was used for a civilian official in a local government district of the Cape Colony, acting as and invested with the authority of a military officer and empowered to act as a...
  
  " 1960–68)
• Second Lieutenant (1918– ) (called "assistant field cornet" 1960–68)

Other ranks

Warrant officers

In June 2008 a new series of Warrant Officer ranks were introduced. See section Warrant Officers below for more information

• Warrant Officer 1st Class (1921– )
• Warrant Officer 2nd Class (1921– )
• Warrant Officer (1912–21)

Non-commissioned officers

• Staff sergeant (1912– )
• Sergeant (1912– )
• Corporal (1912– )
• Lance-Corporal (1912– )

Rank and file

• Private (1912– )

Note: in the artillery and anti-aircraft corps, the corporal and lance-corporal are called "bombardier" and "lance-bombardier". The private is called a "gunner" in the artillery and anti-aircraft, a "rifleman" in the infantry, a "trooper" in the armoured corps, a "sapper" in the engineers, a "signalman" in the signals corps, and a "scout" in the intelligence corps.

Air Force

The SA Air Force

South African Air Force

The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

 was formed in 1920. It formed part of the army until 1951, when it became a service in its own right. Unlike many other Commonwealth air forces, it retained the army rank system. In 2002 the Air Force officer rank insignia was changed from one which was shared with the Army to a new pattern based on stripes. The Air Force stated that this was "in order to bring it more in line with international forms of rank

Air force officer rank insignia

To assist in the comparison of different countries' air force officer rank insignia, NATO rank codes have been used. These are established codes for determining the seniority of officer and other ranks in NATO countries for a particular joint task group or command structure, although specific...

". The army-style rank titles were retained.

>

Officers

General officers

• General (1945– ) (called "commandant-general" 1956–68)
• Lieutenant-General (1940– )
• Major-General (1937– ) (called "combat general" 1960–68)
• Brigadier-General (1933–40, 1998– )

Senior officers

• Brigadier (1937–98) (called "colonel-commandant" 1937–40)
• Colonel (1920– )
• Chief Commandant (1968–70)
• Lieutenant-Colonel (1920– ) (called "commandant" 1950–94)
• Major (1920– )

Junior officers

• Captain (1920– )
• Lieutenant (1920– )
• Second Lieutenant (1920– )

Other ranks

Warrant officers
In June 2008 a new series of Warrant Officer ranks were introduced. See section Warrant Officers below for more information

• Warrant Officer 1st Class (1921– )
• Warrant Officer 2nd Class (1921– )
• Warrant Officer (1920–21)

Non-commissioned officers

• Flight sergeant (1920– )
• Sergeant (1920– ) (called "air sergeant" until 1970)
• Corporal (1920– ) (called "air corporal" until 1970)
• Lance-Corporal (1926– ) (called "leading air mechanic" until 1970)

Rank and file

• Airman (1920– ) (called "air mechanic" 1920–70 and "private" 1970–82)

Navy

The SA Navy

South African Navy

The South African Navy is the navy of the Republic of South Africa.-Formation:The South African Navy can trace its official origins back to the SA Naval Service, which was established on 1 April 1922....

 was originally two separate organisations, namely the South African Division of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (formed in 1913) and the SA Naval Service (formed in 1922 and renamed the "Seaward Defence Force" in 1939). They amalgamated in 1942 to form the SA Naval Forces, which were renamed "SA Navy" in 1951. The rank system is based on that of the (British) Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

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Officers

Flag officers

• Admiral (1972– )
• Vice-Admiral (1965– )
• Rear-Admiral (1940– )
• Rear-Admiral Junior Grade (1998– )

Senior officers

• Commodore (1946–98)
• Captain (1941– )
• Commander (1913– )
• Lieutenant-Commander (1913– )

Junior officers

• Lieutenant (1913– )
• Sub-Lieutenant (1913– )
• Ensign (1913– ) (called "acting sub-lieutenant" until 1965)

Other ranks

Warrant officers

In June 2008 a new series of Warrant Officer ranks were introduced. See section Warrant Officers below for more information

• Warrant Officer 1st Class (1955– )
• Warrant Officer 2nd Class (1955– )
• Warrant Officer (1913–55)

Petty officers

• Chief Petty Officer (1913– )
• Petty Officer (1913– )
• Leading Seaman (1913– )
• Able Seaman (1913– )

Ratings* Seaman (1913– )

Military Health Service

The SA Military Health Service uses the Army rank system. There is a differentiation in that the rank insignia is displayed on a red background as opposed to the army, which is displayed on a brown background.

Warrant Officers

From June 2008 new classes of Warrant officer were introduced. Warrant Officer's in posts such as Regimental Sergeant Major, etc now had a substantive rank to go with the post. And when they moved from that post they stayed in their rank.

Name	Image	Abbreviation	Comments
Master Chief Warrant Officer (2008–)		MCWO	Only used by Sergeant Major of the SANDF
Senior Chief Warrant Officer		SCWO	Service/Division Warrant Officer/ Warrant Officer in Charge of the Warrant Officer Academy
Chief Warrant Officer		CWO
Master Warrant Officer		MWO
Senior Warrant Officer		SWO	Coxswain of a ship/ Regimental Sergeant Major
Warrant Officer Class 1		WO1
Warrant Officer Class 2		WO2