Commander
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Insignia of a United States Navy Commander |
Commander is a
military rank used in many
navies but not generally in
armies or
air forces. It is below
Captain and above
Lieutenant-Commander. The rank evolved in the 18th and early 19th centuries and was originally known as
Master and Commander. The Royal Navy shortened Master and Commander to Commander in 1814.
A commander in the
Royal Navy and the
United States Navy is equivalent in rank to a
lieutenant-colonel in the army (
Pay Grade of O-5). A commander may command a
frigate,
destroyer,
submarine, aviation squadron or shore installation, or may serve on a staff. A commander who commands a unit may be referred to as "Captain" as a courtesy title. A unit commander may also be informally referred to as "skipper."
In the highest levels of
U.S. military command structure, "commander" refers to what used to be called
commander-in-chief, or CINC, until
October 24,
2002 (CINC is still used in casual speech). This is usually referred to with the area of which the officer is commander. For instance, General
Tommy Franks was
CENTCOM commander until
July 7,
2003.
In the
British Army, the term "commander" is officially applied to the
non-commissioned officer in charge of a
section (section commander), vehicle (vehicle commander) or gun (gun commander), to the
subaltern or
captain commanding a
platoon (platoon commander), or to the
brigadier commanding a
brigade (brigade commander). Other officers commanding units are usually referred to as the
Officer Commanding (OC),
Commanding Officer (CO),
General Officer Commanding (GOC), or
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-C), depending on rank and position, although the term "commander" may be applied to them informally.
"Commander" may sometimes be used by laymen, usually applied to the person who is accountable for and holds authority over a group or the attempts of a group to achieve a common goal.
Since the
Royal Air Force's middle-ranking officers' designations are modelled after the
Royal Navy's, the rank equivalent to Lieutenant-Colonel (Army) or Commander (Navy) is called
Wing Commander (ranking between
Squadron Leader and
Group Captain).
In the
Royal Naval Air Service, which amalgamated with the
Royal Flying Corps to form the RAF in
1918, pilots held appointments as well as their normal Royal Navy ranks, and wore insignia appropriate to the appointment instead of the rank. Flight Commander wore a star above a Lieutenant's two rank stripes, Squadron Commander wore two stars above two rank stripes (less than eight years' seniority) or two-and-a-half rank stripes (over eight years seniority), and Wing Commander wore three rank stripes. The rank stripes had the usual Royal Navy curl, and were surmounted by an eagle.
Duty titles of many commanding officers in the
United States Air Force are similar to ranks in the RAF. These duty titles are not ranks, but these titles convey relative power and importance nonetheless. The RAF ranks should not be confused with the titles of the following USAF duty positions: Squadron Commander, Group Commander, and Wing Commander - listed in ascending order. A Squadron Commander is typically a
Major or
Lieutenant Colonel, a Group Commander is typically a
Colonel, and a
Wing Commander is typically a senior Colonel or a
Brigadier General.
Commander is also a senior
police rank in the two
London police forces, the
City of London Police, and the
Metropolitan Police Service. It is senior to
Chief Superintendent in both forces and junior to
Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police and
Assistant Commissioner in the City of London Police. It equates to
Assistant Chief Constable in other forces. The Metropolitan Police introduced the rank in
1946, when they split the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner (with senior DACs keeping that rank title and junior DACs being regraded as Commanders). The Metropolitan Police also had a rank of
Deputy Commander, ranking just below Commander, between 1946 and
1968. In addition, officers in charge of policing each of
London's boroughs are given the title of "Borough Commander", although they hold the rank of
Chief Superintendent, not Commander.
The
San Francisco police department is one of the few American police departments which use this rank. A Commander in the SFPD is equivalent to an
Inspector in other US departments (such as the
NYPD); the SFPD rank was originally called Inspector as well, but was changed to Commander after senior officers voiced a preference for the more
military-sounding rank.
The
Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department (
MPDC) also uses the rank of Commander. The rank falls between those of Inspector and Assistant Chief.
Commander is also used as a title in certain circumstances, such as the Commander of a squad of Detectives, who would usually be of the rank of Lieutenant.
The title of Commander is used in the Military Orders, such as the
Sovereign Military Order of Malta, for a member senior to a
Knight. The title of Knight Commander is often used to denote an even higher rank. These conventions are also used by most of the continental orders of chivalry. The United Kingdom uses different classifications.
In most of the British Orders of Knighthood, the grade of Knight (or Dame) Commander is the lowest grade of knighthood, but is above the grade of Companion (which does not carry a knighthood). In the
Royal Victorian Order and the
Order of the British Empire, the grade of Commander is senior to the grade of Lieutenant or Officer respectively, but junior to that of Knight or Dame Commander. In the British
Order of St. John, a Commander ranks below a Knight. (However, Knights of the Order of St. John are not called "Sir.")
*The fictional
James Bond holds the rank of Commander in the
Royal Navy.
*The fictional
Horatio Hornblower holds the rank of Commander in
Hornblower and the Hotspur.
*In
Star Trek,
Spock,
William T. Riker,
Deanna Troi,
Beverly Crusher,
Benjamin Sisko and many secondary characters have held the rank of Commander in
Starfleet. Although
Geordi LaForge,
Data,
Worf and
Chakotay were Lieutenant Commanders, they were usually addressed as "Commander" in accordance with naval tradition.
*The titles of book
Master and Commander and subsequent Hollywood film
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World refer to the original name for the rank, although Jack Aubrey actually holds the rank of Captain in the film and most of the novels.
*In the
Star Wars films, the rank of Commander is commonly used among the
Imperial Navy and the
Rebel Alliance.
Luke Skywalker is promoted to Commander after destroying the
Death Star.
*The fictional
Honor Harrington holds the rank of Commander in the first book written about her by
David Weber (at the end of the first book she is promoted to Captain of the List).
*In the fictional
Battlestar Galactica universe (original and remake, first season), the character
William Adama held the rank of Commander in the Military Forces of the
Twelve Colonies, senior to Colonel and junior to Admiral. The show uses a unique rank scheme with a mix of army and naval ranks.(Adama was promoted to Admiral later in the series; his son
Lee currently holds the rank of Commander, and commands the
Battlestar Pegasus.)
*In the real-time strategy game
Total Annihilation, the Commander is the starting unit, responsible for primary construction projects.
*In the game
World of Warcraft, Commander is a PvP rank of the Alliance, giving access to cheaper "epic" mounts usable in game. The corresponding Horde rank is
Lieutenant-General*In the
Halo video game series, the rank of Commander is a common rank in the
United Nations Space Command, which seems to follow the current ranking structure of the
United States Navy.
*In
Terry Pratchett's
Discworld novels, Sir
Samuel Vimes has the rank of Commander of the
Ankh-Morpork City Watch. This is the most senior police rank, equivalent to
London's
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
*
Commander of the faithful*
Comparative military ranks*
U.S. Navy Officer Rank Insignia
