sergeant

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
German sergeant, recognizable by the epaulette

The sergeant is a military grade of the Bundeswehr and former armed forces in the German-speaking area .

In the Swiss Army , the name for the rank is Feldweibel . In the armed forces the rank designation Wachtmeister has replaced the designation Sergeant.

etymology

The word is made up of the old term Weibel for court usher ( ahd. Weibôn ' to move back and forth') and field , which refers to war. The term sergeant has also been adopted in several other languages, including Swedish ( fältväbel ), Russian ( фельдфебель ) and Bulgarian ( фелдфебел ). From Webel guided Finnish vääpeli and Estonian veebel from.

armed forces

sergeant
Rank badge on the epaulette of the jacket of the service suit for army uniforms of the artillery troops. Rank badge on the epaulette of the jacket of the service suit for air force uniform wearers.

Rank badge

Rank group NCOs with portepee
NATO rank code OR-6
Rank Army / Air Force sergeant
Marine rank Boatswain
Abbreviation (in lists) Fw (F)
Grade A 7 according to BBesO

The rank of sergeant is determined by the Federal President with the order of the Federal President on the rank designations and the uniform of the soldiers on the basis of the Soldiers Act .

Authority to command and positions

In the army is the Sergeant a corporal rank , which in accordance central service provision (ZDv) A-1420/24 "ranks and rank groups" to the rank group of NCOs with Portepee counts. Because they belong to the rank group of NCOs with portepee, sergeants can issue orders within the limits set there to soldiers of the rank groups of teams and NCOs without portepee on the basis of § 4 (“Superiors relationship based on rank”) of the Superiors Ordinance.

Sergeants are used, for example, as group and squad leaders , as commander of armored vehicles , on staff posts or as specially qualified technical or skilled workers. In the human resources of the reserve mobilization sergeants have special meaning. Mobilization sergeants are often the only active soldiers in non-active units . Their work supports the scheduling of reservists and their calling up for reserve exercises or as part of a mobilization of the armed forces. Because of their position, sergeants can issue orders to all soldiers who are officially or professionally subordinate in the cases listed in the Supervisor Ordinance.

Appointment and remuneration

The decisive legal basis for the appointment as sergeant is the Soldier Career Ordinance (SLV) and, in addition, the Central Service Regulation (ZDv) 20/7. Temporary soldiers and reservists can be appointed to the rank of sergeant . The prerequisite for appointment to the rank of sergeant is membership of one of the career paths of sergeants. Hiring with the rank of sergeant is possible if the applicant has useful knowledge in the application. Most of the sergeants had previously served as sergeant candidates in the rank of sergeant major. In this case, the rank of sergeant can be achieved at the earliest one year after appointment as a staff sergeant. A further condition is that they have a NCO examination have passed, which is composed of a generally military and military technical part ( Sergeant examination ).

Sergeant after the Bundesbesoldungsgesetz order (BBesO) with A 7 remunerated .

Rank badge

The rank badge for sergeants shows an angle with the point upwards and a closed braid as a shoulder badge .

Equivalent, subordinate and superior ranks

The rank of sergeant is only held in army and air force uniforms . Navy uniform bearers of the same rank hold the rank of boatswain . Officer candidates have the same rank of ensign (for army and air force uniforms) or ensign at sea (for naval uniforms). In the armed forces of the NATO the Sergeant is at all ranks with the NATO Code rank OR 6 equivalent.

In the sergeant's careers , the sergeant is in accordance with No. 127 f. ZDv 20/7 between the lower rank Stabsunteroffizier or Obermaat and the higher-ranking Oberfeldwebel or upper Bootsmann arranged (first grade designation for each Army and Air Force Uniform; second grade designation for each Marine Uniform).

Bundeswehr Cross Black.svg NCO rank
Lower rank   Higher rank
Staff Sergeant
Obermaat
Sergeant
Boatswain
Ensign
Ensign at sea
Oberfeldwebel
Oberbootsmann

Rank group : Teams-NCOs-NCO-NCOs-Lieutenant-Captains-Staff officers-Generals

Unofficial use as a collective name

Unofficially, the army and air force uniform wearers of the rank group NCOs with portepee are referred to as sergeants, although sometimes the naval uniform wearers of this rank group are implicitly included. Due to the unofficial character of the designation, it is often unclear whether the ranks of the officer candidates from the rank group of NCOs with portepee ( ensign , Oberfähnrich or also ensign at sea and Oberfähnrich zur See ) following a different designation scheme also fall under this unofficial designation or just the Ranks of this rank group, in which one can be appointed in one of the career paths of sergeants.

Careers of sergeants

Regardless of the rank of sergeant or the rank group of NCOs with portepee, the ten careers of sergeants are combined into one of the two subgroups of the careers group of NCOs according to the Soldier Career Ordinance . Soldiers whose training goal is achieved with the appointment to one of the ranks of the rank group NCOs with Portepee are assigned to one of the career paths of sergeants. This also includes Sergeant Candidates (and corresponding candidates for careers for reservists) of the rank group of the crews and NCOs without portepee . In addition, not all soldiers in the rank group NCOs with portepee belong to these careers. Instead, they are as officer candidates of the category of officers assigned.

Swiss Army

In the Swiss Army , the degree is referred to as Feldweibel .

Former forces

Historically, the sergeant was a non-commissioned officer with special tasks within a company or the highest non-commissioned officer rank. The sergeant was originally the captain's assistant in the German armed forces and later became a subordinate rank .

Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times

Already towards the end of the 15th century, the tasks of the woman , later of the field woman , were among the most important functions in the ensign . In contrast to the common women who, elected by the mercenaries , represented their interests vis-à-vis the officers , the sergeant was appointed by the colonel or the captain. As a tactical assistant to the captain, he was involved in the division and preparation of the battleship of the ensign. A comparable function was exercised in the regiments of the Colonel Sergeants (later Major ). In the 17th and 18th centuries the sergeant's activity was gradually limited, similar to that of the major, to domestic service. The whore female , who as leader of the entourage , if the same size, received a captain's salary, held a special position . A lieutenant and an ensign were available to support him , with whose help he had to maintain the internal order in the entourage and whose tactical command he had to secure.

18th century to the empire

With the emergence of regular grades at the beginning of the 18th century, the most senior sergeant was commissioned officer of the company. In some armies of German states he was sometimes called a sergeant . The sergeant was responsible in particular for the internal service of the company, receiving orders, typing and accounting, etc. The designation for this position changed from company sergeant in the Prussian army to regular sergeant and serving sergeant to main sergeant . For the artillery and cavalry , the sergeant was called Wachtmeister .

In the Prussian army sergeants and sergeants no longer stood "under the cane" since 1741, but were "only" waved as punishment . In the same year the regular sergeants of the first battalion of the guard were allowed the officer's portepee on the team saber, the example later followed by the other two guard battalions and in 1789 by the rest of the army. Since 1822 Prussian sergeants were allowed to put the officers' swords or sabers on the team paddock, but the weapon was to be procured at their own expense. In Prussia in 1844 they were granted a stiffened service cap with a peak (other non-commissioned officers only from 1873) and an officer's cockade.

With the further development of the military since the middle of the 19th century, the sergeant's rank became increasingly important. The posts to be filled by them became more numerous and increasingly required specialist knowledge, especially in connection with the mechanization of the armed forces.

Empire

The (regular) Sergeant ( Spieß ) was the highest NCO rank in Germany until 1918. In the imperial army , the non-regular superfluous sergeants ( vice sergeants ), the sergeants and the non-commissioned officers were subordinate to him. The budget man was entrusted with internal service and administrative tasks and worked closely with the company commander .

The rank of vice sergeant was introduced in the imperial armed forces in 1873. His tasks were to instruct the younger NCOs and, if necessary, to represent an officer (see officer deputy ). In the following decades the special rank designations of medical, weapons or clothing sergeant as well as harness master , fireworker and radio master emerged step by step .

Until 1920 there were also sergeants in the marine infantry , in the naval tribal / sailor divisions and in the medical service of the navy.

Reichswehr and Wehrmacht

In the Reichswehr , the new ranks Ober and Unterfeldwebel (the latter corresponding to the former sergeant) were introduced in 1920 . The competencies of the hitherto highest non-commissioned officers in the company area were taken over by the " troop- service scheduled sergeant" / "Oberwachtmeister", later in the Wehrmacht the "sergeant major" or (from 1938) the sergeant major (here only one position , but no rank ). This function is called a company sergeant in the Bundeswehr (also a service position).

From October 22nd, 1922, the ranks Feldwebel and Oberfeldwebel were introduced as non-commissioned officers with portepee in the Reichsmarine (later Kriegsmarine ), but the old rank designation for deck officers , such as helmsman , boatswain , etc., continued to apply .

In Germany, the highest rank of sergeant since 1938 was the sergeant in the army and air force or the sergeant major (from 1939) in the navy. As the name suggests, these were not used in companies, but usually in higher staffs .

In the German Wehrmacht, the rank of sergeant was the lowest rank of sergeant with portepee , which was taken over from the Reichswehr. In the arms of the cavalry , artillery and flak , the rank designation was sergeant . This rank also corresponded to the SS-Oberscharführer of the Waffen SS, the SA troop leader and the boatswain of the Navy. The officer candidate in the rank of Fahnenjunker-Feldwebel was nominally equal to the Sergeant.

According to today's NATO rank codes , these ranks would be comparable to OR-6 .

Badges of rank Wehrmacht (Army, Air Force, Navy) and SS until 1945

The equivalent to this rank was the boatswain of the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine until 1945. The corresponding rank in the Waffen-SS was SS-Oberscharführer .

Rank
lower:
sergeant major

German EmpireGerman Empire (Reichskriegsflagge)
sergeant

( Constable )

higher:
sergeant major

Common Army

Badge of rank, sergeant of an infantry regiment with pale red leveling

At the time of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy, the rank of sergeant in the infantry was held. He was the equivalent of the fireworks in the artillery , in the cavalry and in the train the sergeants. Since 1913, the sergeant major was placed in front of the sergeant. The sergeant in charge (the external identification was the officer's saber with an imperial yellow and black sergeant major in most branches of the army) was in charge of the accounting sergeant and the other sergeants ( platoon commander , corporal ) of the company. Immediately in front of the staff sergeant was the one-year-old volunteer sergeant and the cadet sergeant. With this officer candidate rank all those graduates of the cadet schools were integrated into the troops who had completed their training with “good”. The Kadett Sergeant (renamed Kadett in 1909) was largely out of use after 1891, but never completely disappeared. At the end of the First World War , the officers' deputy and the ensign were directly in front of him.

With the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1918, the terms Sergeant and Fireworker were dropped; in their place came the sergeant or staff sergeant in all branches of the army . At the same time, the sergeant's rank was downgraded: since 1921, the lowest ranked NCO was equated with the sergeant major of the German Reichswehr (a counterpart to the German rank of “NCO” did not exist in Austria). The staff sergeant ranked with the Reichswehr sergeant, the deputy officer with the Reichswehr sergeant (platoon leader and corporal now corresponded to the corporal and corporal). In the “modern” Austrian armed forces , the sergeants form their own rank group .

National Peoples Army

In the NVA and the border troops of the GDR , professional soldiers could usually be promoted to sergeant major ( Obermaat ) after successfully completing the 6-month NCO training and after a further 18 months to sergeant ( master ). After the change in the promotion regulations for career NCOs in the spring of 1989, the period of service to be promoted to the next higher rank only lasted six months. One could therefore achieve the rank of sergeant after two years of total service.

Sergeant Pioneer Troop
Master of the People's Navy

The following ranks of the rank group of NCOs with portepee were:

As professional NCOs and military specialists, sergeants / masters could apply for the service of an NVA ensign or professional officer if they were suitably qualified and if the necessary requirements were met.

The sergeant was used as a group leader and deputy platoon leader as well as in various staff positions.

A sergeant major or "spit" (according to NATO understanding, company sergeant) was the position of the sergeant or ensign who was responsible in the company for the performance of sergeants and soldiers, the discipline, order and readiness of material resources.

Rank
lower:
sergeant major

Flag of NVA (East Germany) .svg
Sergeant
( sergeant major )
higher:
sergeant major

literature

  • Georg Ortenburg, Ed .: Heerwesen der Neuzeit , Dept. I, The Age of Landsknechte, Vol. 2, Siegfried Fiedler: Warfare and Warfare in the Age of Landsknechte , Bernard & Graefe Verlag Koblenz, 1985, ISBN 3-7637-5462-8

Remarks

  1. Left: Rank badge on the shoulder flap of the jacket of the service suit for army uniforms of the artillery troops . Right: Rank badge on the shoulder flap of the jacket of the service suit for Air Force uniform wearers.
  2. Army and air force uniform wearers of this rank group are unofficially summarized as sergeant ranks. Non-commissioned officers with portepee who hold appropriate ranks for naval uniform bearers are also unofficially referred to as boatmen .
  3. According to §17 of the Soldiers' Career Ordinance , depending on the intended use, this includes, for example, the master craftsman's examination , the graduation from a two-year technical school , the professional qualification as a nurse , the basic studies at a university for music with a preliminary diploma etc.
  4. ZDv 20/7 on the basis of Section 44 of the Soldiers ' Career Ordinance ( Ordinance on the Careers of Soldiers (Soldiers' Career Ordinance - SLV) . March 19, 2002, Section 44 ( online [accessed on March 25, 2014] Newly drafted by Bek. V. 19 August 2011 I 1813. Last amended by Art. 2 Paragraph 5 G of April 8, 2013 I 730). )
  5. The other subgroup of the career group of NCOs comprises the six careers of specialist NCOs .

Individual evidence

  1. Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm: German Dictionary (16 vol. [In 32 partial volumes]). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1854-1960. Vol. XIV, Col. 379: originally court messenger; military: non-commissioned officer rank "to all captains, fenderichen, weybeln and befelchsleuten, as ordered by the imagined chiefs to be obedient"
  2. Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm: German Dictionary (16 vol. [In 32 partial volumes]). S. Hirzel, Leipzig 1854-1960. Vol. III, Sp. 1474: 8) very often refers to field, like the sl. Pole, to fight and war and is not only the battlefield, campus certaminis, proelii, but also the field into which an army moves b) field on which one moves towards the enemy, field of the campaign, of the camp; Going into the field or pulling can be hot into the battle, but also just undertake the military campaign, go into war, lie in the field.
  3. a b Hartmut Bagger , Command Staff of the Armed Forces I 3, Federal Ministry of Defense (Ed.): ZDv 37/10. Suit regulations for soldiers in the Bundeswehr . July 1996. Reprint from October 2008. Bonn July 16, 2008, 4 labels, p. 539 ( digitized version [PDF; 3.5 MB ] Reprint October 2008 replaces first edition from July 1996). Digitized version ( memento of the original from September 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dmb-lv-westfalen.de
  4. a b The Federal Minister of Defense (ed.): ZDv 14/5. Soldiers Act . DSK AV110100174, change status July 17, 2008. Bonn August 21, 1978, rank designations in the Bundeswehr, p. B 185 (not to be confused with the Law on the Legal Status of Soldiers (Soldiers Law) ).
  5. a b Agreed English texts. STANAG 2116 . NATO standardization agreement (STANAG) . NATO codes for grades of military personnel. 5th edition. 1992 (English, NATO Rank Codes - 1992 [accessed March 25, 2014]).
  6. a b c d e The Federal President (Ed.): Order of the Federal President on the rank designations and the uniform of the soldiers . BPresUnifAnO. July 14, 1978 ( gesetze-im-internet.de [PDF] Order of the Federal President on the rank designations and uniforms of soldiers from July 14, 1978 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 1067 ), last amended by Article 1 of the order of 31. May 1996 ( BGBl. I p. 746 ) has been changed).
  7. ^ Federal Minister of Defense ; Command Staff of the Armed Forces IV 1 (Ed.): Abbreviations for use in the Bundeswehr - German Abbreviations - ZDv 64/10 . Bonn January 19, 1979 ( ucoz.de [PDF] as of September 17, 1999).
  8. a b Appendix I (to § 20, paragraph 2, sentence 1) Bundesbesoldungsgesetz orders of A and B . ( Online [accessed on March 25, 2014] Federal salary regulations (BBesO) only apply to professional and temporary soldiers and are an annex to the Federal Salary Act (BBesG)).
  9. The Federal Minister of Defense (ed.): Law on the legal status of soldiers (Soldiers Act - SG) . Bonn March 19, 1956, § 4 para. 3 (2) - ( gesetze-im-internet.de [PDF; accessed on March 25, 2014] Newly drafted by notice of May 30, 2005 I 1482. Last amended by Art . 1 G of April 8, 2013 I 730).
  10. a b The Federal Minister of Defense (ed.): ZDv 14/5. Soldiers Act . DSK AV110100174, amendment status July 17, 2008. Bonn August 21, 1978, The Superiors Ordinance, p. A 12 1 (not to be confused with the Ordinance on the Regulation of Military Superiors (Superiors Ordinance - VorgV) ).
  11. Federal Minister of Defense (Ed.): Ordinance on the regulation of the military superior relationship (Superior Ordinance - VorgV) . June 4, 1956, § 4 ( online [accessed on March 25, 2014] Last amended by Art. 1 No. 2 V of October 7, 1981 I 1129).
  12. Federal Minister of Defense (Ed.): Ordinance on the regulation of the military superior relationship (Superior Ordinance - VorgV) . June 4, 1956 ( online [accessed on March 25, 2014] last amended by Art. 1 No. 2 V of October 7, 1981 I 1129).
  13. a b Ordinance on the Careers of Soldiers (Soldiers' Careers Ordinance - SLV) . March 19, 2002 ( online [accessed on March 25, 2014] revised by notice of August 19, 2011 I 1813. Last amended by Art. 2 Par. 5 G of April 8, 2013 I 730).
  14. Note also: Annex (to § 3). Allocation of the career paths of the soldiers to the career groups of the men and women, the NCOs and the officers
  15. a b The Federal Minister of Defense ; Personnel, Social and Central Affairs Department (Ed.): ZDv 20/7. Provisions for the transport and for the recruitment, acceptance and admission of soldiers . Bonn March 27, 2002, Art. 635 ( PDF ( memento of October 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) [accessed on March 26, 2014] DSK AP210100187, reprint January 2008). [[Central Service Regulations | ZDv]] 20/7. Regulations for the transport and for the recruitment, takeover and admission of soldiers ( memento of the original from October 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.reservisten.bundeswehr.de
  16. a b The equivalent, higher and lower ranks are given in accordance with ZDv 14/5 B 185, cf. The Federal Minister of Defense (ed.): ZDv 14/5. Soldiers Act . DSK AV110100174, change status July 17, 2008. Bonn August 21, 1978, rank designations in the Bundeswehr, p. B 185 (Not to be confused with the Law on the Legal Status of Soldiers (Soldiers Act) . The order of the ranks shown in the info box does not necessarily correspond to one of the regular rank sequences provided for in the Soldiers' Career Ordinance , nor does it necessarily correspond to the rank hierarchy described in the Superiors Ordinance a managerial relationship ).
  17. Zeitschrift für Heereskunde, Volume 56, Issues 359-364 (1992)
  18. Note: OR stands for English Other (enlisted) Ranks (OR) as opposed to OF ( Officers ) and WO ( Warrant Officers in Germany without equivalent). See NATO glossary abbreviations used in NATO documents and publications . Glossaire OTAN des abréviations utilisées dans les documents et publications OTAN. 2010, p. 237 (English, online ( Memento from May 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) [PDF; 5.1 MB ; accessed on October 13, 2016]).

Web links

Wiktionary: Feldwebel  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations