Sergeant major

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The sergeant was a low -commissioned officer rank in the National People's Army of the GDR and earlier in Army and Reichswehr . In the Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany, this corresponds to the rank of staff sergeant .

history

The Unterfeldwebel ( Unterwachtmeister with cavalry , artillery and tank troops ) always referred to a soldier in Germany in the second lowest rank of NCO (after the NCO ). He was one of the non-commissioned officers without portepee .

Since the rank of Unterfeldwebel was not linked to a position (equal to the staff sergeant ), only a certain seniority was required for promotion. This was achieved about three to four years after entering military service. Since 1936 the rank of sergeant major in the army and air force was mostly skipped, soldiers with the rank of sergeant were promoted directly to sergeants if they were qualified.

The designation Unterfeldwebel or Unterwachtmeister emerged from the renaming of the rank of Sergeant of the Imperial Army .

Badge of rank Army, Air Force, Navy and Waffen-SS until 1945 (OR-5)

  • Shoulder piece sergeant major army

  • Army camouflage suit

  • Shoulder piece Luftwaffe

  • Ensign of the Lw

  • Collar tab Lw

  • Sleeve upper (boatswain) maat

  • Collar Ober (boatswain) maat

  • Shoulder piece SS-Scharführer of the Waffen-SS

  • SS-Scharführer collar tab

  • Waffen-SS camouflage suit

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

Rank
lower:
NCO
German EmpireGerman Empire (Reichskriegsflagge)
Sergeant major

( Sergeant major )

higher:
Sergeant

National Peoples Army

Distinction epaulettes sergeant / chief mate (OR-5)
GDR Navy OR5 Obermaat.gif
Chief Mate of the People's Navy


The rank was (re) introduced in 1962 by the NVA and the border troops of the GDR , after having been in the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht from 1921 to 1945 . The rank badge remained almost identical.

Rank
lower:
NCO
Flag of NVA (East Germany) .svg
Unterfeldwebel
( Obermaat ) 		higher:
Sergeant

German Federal Armed Forces

The comparable rank in the Bundeswehr would be the staff sergeant (abbreviation: StUffz / in lists: SU ; NATO rank code OR-5) as the highest rank in the rank group of NCOs without portepee and the second lowest rank in the career group of NCOs. In the German Navy, this rank would then correspond to the senior petty officer .

Bundeswehr Cross Black.svg NCO rank
Lower rank   Higher rank
Non-commissioned officer
( ensign ) 		Staff Sergeant sergeant

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

Web link

Wiktionary: Unterfeldwebel  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
  1. ↑ 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 ).