Chef d'escadron
Chef d'escadron is a rank in the French army and the associated national gendarmerie , which is to be equated with the "commandant" ( major ). The rank of "major" does not exist in the French officer ranks. The commandant becomes the "Chef d'escadron" as soon as he has taken command of a corresponding unit. This means that he remains commandant, but this designation is only used in personal salutation (oui, mon commandant) as long as he is in the command function. In correspondence, on the other hand, he is referred to as Chef d'escadron (e.g. signature: Dupont, Chef d'escadron ). If he leaves this post, this procedure is not applicable.
The "Chef d'escadron" (CEN) is the lowest staff rank in the cavalry , artillery , train (supply force) and gendarmerie. In contrast to the rank designation, the male "Chef d'escadron" is addressed as "Mon commandant"; for female officers, the salutation is only "Commandant", also in the plural. (“Mon” is a corruption of “Monsieur”, it does not mean “my” translated with “mon”. Mon Commandant therefore does not translate as “my Commandant”, but actually stands for “my Herr Commandant” and is therefore for female commanders useless.)
In the infantry and the pioneers the same rank is referred to as "Chef de bataillon" (CBA), among the army aviators as "Chef d'escadrille".
These ranks date from the time when the regiments were so large that they had to be divided up during maneuvers, otherwise the trumpet signals could no longer be heard everywhere. So z. B. the battalions, the Groupes d'escadrons (for the cavalry), and the Groupes de batteries (for the artillery).
- deviation
- In the “ Arme blindée et cavalerie ” (ABC), the different designation “Chef d'escadrons” (CES) is also used for individuals in the plural. To push the grammatical and cultural hair-splitting to extremes, it has happened and still happens that some people stick to pronouncing the "end-s", which is not common in the French language. This makes it clear that the "Chef d'escadrons XY" is a cavalier and not a less valued artilleryman, a gendarme or even a train soldier (Tringlot).
- In the “Arme blindée et cavalerie”, the escadron, as the smallest independent unit (Unité élémentaire), is not commanded by a “Chef d'escadrons” but by a “Capitaine commandant d'unité élémentaire” (CDU).
source
- Les grades de Direction general de l'armement . Armée de Terre - Ministère de la Defense (ed.).