About Military Rank Insignias
Militaryspot accurately points out that military rank is "more than just who salutes whom. Military rank is a badge of leadership." Military rank, whether earned or awarded, delineates levels of responsibility for personnel, equipment and missions. Military rank provides a hierarchical indication of who can lead, who will lead and how many people can be led based upon increasing rank. Military rank is most often represented by insignia worn on a uniform.
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Origins
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Ever since the first cave people organized to fight other cave people, military rank has been needed to direct the action, to obtain and distribute supplies, and coordinate personnel. It wasn't until around 104 CE, according to Roman-Empire.net, that formal military ranks became widespread based on the reforms by the Gaius Marius. These reforms traded armies of farmers and citizens for people hired specifically to fight, thus professionalizing the military.
Officer Rank Insignia
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One of the first professional officer ranks was the Roman Army's legatus. This rank is equivalent to a modern general and commanded a Roman legion, which the BBC describes as having between 4,000 and 6,000 men. Using a pyramid shape as a visual reference, with the legatus at the very top, each organization subordinate to a legion had its officers in command, in ever decreasing ranks. This is true for modern militaries all over the world. Most common is for the lowest rank to be lieutenant, graduating to captain, then major, then lieutenant colonel, then colonel, then general. These ranks in the U.S. military are represented, respectively, by a single vertical gold or silver bar, double vertical silver bars, gold oakleaf, either a silver oakleaf or a silver eagle, and one to five stars.
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Enlisted Rank Insignias
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Enlisted ranks differ from officer ranks in levels of authority, pay and responsibilities. The lowest ranking officer has command over the highest ranking enlisted person. Likewise, the amount of military pay and benefits for enlisted personnel is less than officers' pay and benefits. Officers generally have more education and, in some cases, more social status, depending on the country and historical context. Most common is for the lowest rank to be private, graduating to corporal, then varying degrees of sergeant, culminating in sergeant major as the senior enlisted rank. Enlisted ranks generally use stripes and chevrons to numerically represent superiority of command.
Variations
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Enlisted and officer ranks vary by country and by service. Using the U.S. Department of Defense for example and the Army rank of sergeant first class, the equivalent Marine rank is gunnery sergeant, the equivalent Air Force rank is master sergeant and the equivalent Navy rank is chief petty officer.
Countries differentiate military rank based on history and custom. Colonialism had a notable impact on determining military rank variation, such as the military rank system in India, which uses the British military ranking system.
Likewise the insignias vary, although the unifying crown insignia on countries like Australia and Scotland indicates British affiliation.
Wear and Appearance
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Military ranks are recognized through the use of insignias. These are worn in very specific and regulated manners. For instance, the U.S Army Regulation AR 670-1 (Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignias) stipulates exact measurements of where and under what conditions insignias may be worn, differentiating between insignia worn for parades and special occasions and those to be used in combat. By rule, subordinate personnel must be able to see and respond to the ranks of their superiors, so the level of visibility must be appropriate to the condition worn.
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References
Resources
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