Sergeant

This article denotes the rank. For the rank and career groups of the same name, see Unteroffizier (disambiguation) .

The NCO is a military rank in the Bundeswehr and former German armed forces. In addition, the rank groups of NCOs with and without Portepee are combined as NCOs in the Bundeswehr . NCOs is also the name for a career group according to the Soldiers' Career Ordinance , which includes the careers of specialist NCOs and sergeants . In the Austrian Armed Forces and the Swiss Army , the term is also a collective term for several ranks.

armed forces

Sergeant
Rank badge
Rank group	NCOs without portepee
NATO rank code	OR-5
Rank Army / Air Force	Sergeant
Marine rank	Mate
Abbreviation (in lists)	Uffz (U)
Grade	A 5 according to BBesO

The rank of non-commissioned officer 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 Bundeswehr, the NCO is a NCO rank which, according to the Central Service Regulations (ZDv) A-1420/24 “Ranks and Rank Groups”, belongs to the rank group of NCOs without porter . Because they belong to the rank group of NCOs without porter, NCOs can issue orders to soldiers of the rank group of men within the limits set there on the basis of § 4 (“Superiors relationship based on rank”) of the Superiors Ordinance.

NCOs are used, for example, as group and squad leaders , as trainers or as assistants in staff duty . Because of their position, non-commissioned officers can issue orders to all soldiers who are officially or professionally subordinate in the cases listed in the Supervisor Ordinance.

See also : Sergeant on duty

Appointment and remuneration

The decisive legal basis for the appointment as a NCO is met by the Soldiers' Career Ordinance (SLV) and, in addition, the Central Service Regulations (ZDv) 20/7. Temporary soldiers and reservists can be appointed to the rank of NCO . The prerequisite for appointment to the rank of NCO is membership of one of the career paths of the career group of NCOs. Hiring as a non-commissioned officer is directly possible with a (secondary) school leaving certificate and a professional qualification that can be used. Most of the NCOs had previously served as NCOs or sergeants in a rank of the men’s rank group . In this case, team ranks can be appointed NCOs after twelve months of service , but NCO candidates at the earliest nine months after being appointed private . Non-commissioned officers (not sergeants) must also pass a non-commissioned officer examination , which consists of a general military and a military- technical part ( specialist non-commissioned officer examination ).

NCOs are after Bundesbesoldungsgesetz order (BBesO) with A 5 remunerated .

Rank badge

→ Main article : Rank badge of the Bundeswehr

The rank badge for NCOs shows an open braid as a shoulder badge .

Equivalent, subordinate and superior ranks

The rank of non-commissioned officer is only held by army and air force uniforms . Navy uniform wearers of the same rank hold the rank of Maat . Officer candidates of equal rank hold the ranks of Fahnenjunker or Naval Cadet (first rank designation for army and air force uniform bearers; second rank designation for naval uniform bearers). In the armed forces of the NATO the NCO is at all ranks with the NATO Code rank -5 OR equivalent.

In the career group of NCOs, the NCO according to No. 127 f. ZDv 20/7 classified under the higher-ranking staff sergeant (rank designation for army and air force uniforms) or senior mate (for naval uniforms). According to § 4 of the Superiors Ordinance, all non-commissioned officers within the limits defined there are superiors of all ranks of the rank group of the crews, whose highest rank is the corporal corporal .

NCO rank
Lower rank		Higher rank
-	Sergeant Fahnenjunker Maat Midshipman	Staff Sergeant Obermaat
Rank group : Teams-NCOs-NCO-NCOs-Lieutenant-Captains-Staff officers-Generals See also : Ranks  and Rank Badges of the Bundeswehr

Use as a collective term

In accordance with the order of the Federal President about the rank designations and the uniform of the soldiers , the group of NCOs includes the two rank groups NCOs with and without porters . Therefore all associated ranks are also referred to as NCO ranks. All NCO ranks form the NCO corps . Unofficially, NCOs are sometimes only referred to as Army and Air Force uniform wearers of the rank group NCOs without portepee, whereby sometimes the naval uniform wearers of this rank group are implicitly included. Due to the unofficial nature of the designation, it is often unclear whether the ranks of the officer candidates from the rank group of non-commissioned officers ( Fahnenjunker and naval cadet ) following a different designation scheme also fall under this unofficial designation or only the ranks of the rank group of non-commissioned officers without portepee one of the career paths of the career group of NCOs may be appointed.

See also : Unofficial names for the rank group of NCOs without portepee

Career group of NCOs

Regardless of the rank of non-commissioned officer or the rank groups of non-commissioned officers with and without portepee, the career group of non-commissioned officers is one of the career groups of the Bundeswehr according to the soldiers' career regulation .

Swiss Army

In the Swiss Army , all degrees from corporal to chief adjutant are referred to as non-commissioned officers and are divided into non-commissioned officers (corporal to senior sergeant ) and higher non-commissioned officers (field women to chief adjutant).

See also : degrees of the Swiss Army

Federal Army (Austria)

In the Austrian armed forces , the ranks from sergeant up to and including vice lieutenant belong to the rank group of NCOs. You are in charge of the batches .

See also : Ranks of the Austrian Armed Forces

National Peoples Army

In the National People's Army of the GDR was Corporal both the rank designation for the lowest commissioned officer rank of the rank group of NCOs without Portepee and collective name for the entire NCO corps. With regard to the rank designation of the individual non-commissioned officer ranks and the design of the individual rank insignia , the traditions of the German armed forces up to 1945 were linked here.

For the appointment to the first rank of NCO or NCO of the NVA, a commitment period of three years and the successful completion of a NCO course at a NCO school were required.

	NCO ranks of the National People's Army
colour	Border troops of the GDR		Pioneers motor vehicle technical services	News force	Missile troops u. artillery
	NCO (OR-5)	Unterfeldwebel (OR-5)	Sergeant (OR-6)	Sergeant Major (OR-7)	Staff Sergeant (OR-8)

Rank
lower: Corporal	Non-commissioned officer (mate)	higher: sergeant major

See also : Ranks of the National People's Army

Wehrmacht

In the Wehrmacht of the German Reich from 1932 to 1945, Unteroffizier was both the designation for the lowest non-commissioned officer rank and the name for the rank group of non-commissioned officers with and without portepee .

The officer candidate in the rank of Fahnenjunker NCO was nominally equal to the NCO.

	NCO ranks of the Wehrmacht - Army
colour	Tank (pink)	Infantry (white)	News (lemon yellow)	Supply force (dark blue)	Panzergrenadier (meadow green)
	NCO (OR-5)	Unterfeldwebel (OR-5)	Sergeant (OR-6)	Sergeant Major (OR-7)	Staff Sergeant (OR-8)

Rank
lower: Corporal	Non-commissioned officer ( mate )	higher: sergeant major

See also : Ranks of the Wehrmacht  and NS ranks

Armed forces in the German Empire

From 1856 the rank of non-commissioned officer replaced the rank of corporal / corporal in the Prussian army . This rank designation was later adopted in the entire German Army . Further NCO ranks in the armed forces in the German Empire were:

• Deck Officer (in the Navy)
• sergeant
• Fireworkers
• Oberjäger - NCO of the hunters and later mountain troops and paratroopers (also used unofficially in the Bundeswehr until at least 1957)
• Sergeant - until 1918/19
• Vice Sergeant ( Vice Sergeant ) - until 1918/19
• Constable

Other armed forces and organizations

In many armed forces in the world, the rank of non-commissioned officer corresponds to the sergeant ( English ; French : sergent ), more rarely the corporal . In some countries, corresponding rank designations are also used in civil organizations; especially if they are directly subordinate to the military or have a military-like structure (for example in the fire brigade in Paris (part of the pioneer troop) and gendarmerie ).

See also : ranks of the French armed forces

literature

• Paul Klein (Ed.): The strained backbone? NCOs of the Bundeswehr . Nomos, Baden-Baden 1983, ISBN 3-7890-0862-1 .

Web links

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

• Rudolf Jaun : NCOs. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Remarks

1. ↑ Left: Rank badge on the shoulder flap of the jacket of the service suit for army uniforms of the Panzergrenadier troops . Right: Rank badge on the shoulder flap of the jacket of the service suit for Air Force uniform wearers.
2. ↑ Unofficially, NCOs without portepee are also simply summarized as NCOs, while the rank group of NCOs with portepee is called sergeant ranks . However, according to the order of the Federal President on the rank designations and the uniform of the soldiers, the group of NCOs includes both the rank group of NCOs without porters and the rank group of NCOs with porters.
3. ↑ 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). )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} The Federal President (Ed.): Order of the Federal President on the rank designations and the uniform of the soldiers ( BPäsUnifAnO ) . 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).
2. ↑ ^{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.  
3. ↑ ^{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) ).
4. ↑ ^{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]).
5. ^ 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).
6. ↑ ^{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)).
7. ↑ 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).
8. ↑ ^{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) ).
9. ↑ ^{a b} 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).
10. ↑ 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).
11. ^ Ordinance on the career paths of soldiers (Soldiers' Career 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).
12. ↑ 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
13. ↑ ^{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). 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.  
14. ↑ ^{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 ).
15. ↑ The rank designations Oberjäger and Stabsoberjäger for the ranks NCO and Staff NCO were partly used until the early 1960s after the model of the ranks of the Wehrmacht in the hunter and parachute troops , cf. Iller disaster . The death of Kempten . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1957 ( online ). . However, there was no legal basis for this informal and widespread practice in the form of a corresponding order by the Federal President, cf. Federal President Theodor Heuss et al .: Second order of the Federal President on the rank designations, the appointment and dismissal as well as the uniform of the volunteer soldiers from February 1, 1956 . In: Federal Law Gazette Part 1 . tape 1956 , 4 of February 2, 1956. Bonn July 23, 1956, p. 63 ff . ( Online [PDF; accessed May 12, 2015]). , Federal President Theodor Heuss et al .: Second order of the Federal President on the rank designations and the uniform of soldiers from July 26, 1957 . In: Federal Law Gazette Part 1 . tape 1957 , 39 of August 7, 1957. Bonn July 26, 1957, p. 1056 ( online [PDF; accessed May 12, 2015]).