Quartermaster
Quartermaster is a term usually referring to a military individual which specializes in supplying and provisioning troops. It can also refer to a unit doing the same, or to a junior naval rank.
The term was first coined in
Germany as
Quartiermeister and initially denoted a court official with the duty of preparing the monarch's sleeping quarters. In the
17th century, it started to be used in various militaries in the sense of organising supplies.
In the
British Army, the
Quartermaster (QM) is the officer in a
battalion or
regiment responsible for supply. By longstanding tradition, he or she is always
commissioned from the ranks (and is usually a former
Regimental Sergeant Major) and holds the rank of
captain or
major. Some units also have a Technical Quartermaster, who is in charge of technical stores. The Quartermaster is assisted by the
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS) and a staff of
storemen. The QM, RQMS and storemen are drawn from the regiment or
corps in which they work, not from the
Royal Logistic Corps, which is responsible for issuing and transporting supplies to them. Units which specialise in supply are known as "supply" units, not "quartermaster" units, and their personnel as "suppliers".
Until 1813, the Quartermaster was the senior NCO in a British cavalry troop. In that year, the position was replaced by the new appointment of
Troop Sergeant Major, the cavalry adopting commissioned, regimental Quartermasters as described above.
From
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Standing Orders:
For many centuries â€" indeed perhaps as long as there have been organized military units â€" the appointment of quartermaster has been significant in armies. Until recent times the British Army almost invariably rewarded an outstanding RSM by appointing him quartermaster of his battalion, thus ensuring the unit an experienced officer who knew the unit thoroughly and would prove difficult to mislead or beguile.
As the complexities of the Army and its material increased, an officer with greater professional technical knowledge of the problems that surround stores management was required for the Quartermaster's duties. Under authority of Canadian Army Order 201 â€" 16 dated 8 February 1954, the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps assumed these responsibilities and undertook to train and provide unit quartermasters and staff for all Corps of the Canadian Army (Regular) except the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, Royal Canadian army Medical Corps and Royal Canadian Dental Corps.
In recent years, the Quartermaster has been a specially trained officer of the
Logistics Branch, though CFR (Commissioned From Ranks) officers have been known to accept regimental appointments such as quartermaster.
In the
United States Army, the term is used to describe all supply personnel and units that are part of the
Quartermaster Corps.
In the
United States Navy, the term is used quite differently. The title derives from "master of the quarterdeck", the quarterdeck being the deck where the
helm was situated and navigation was generally performed. The quartermaster was thus in charge of the watch-to-watch navigation and the maintenance, correction, and preparation of nautical charts and navigation publications. He was also responsible for navigational instruments and clocks and the training of ship's lookouts and helmsmen. He would perform these duties under the control of the ship's navigator or other officer if there was no officer navigator. In the modern navy, a quartermaster is a
petty officer who specializes in navigation. The
rating abbreviation is QM. The US Navy rating dealing with supply and logistics is Storekeeper (SK) which would be equivalent to the Army quartermaster.
A
Quartermaster within the scout movement is responsible for all the kit in a troop.
In the
French Navy, Quartermaster (
Quartier-maître) is a junior rank equivalent to a
French Army Corporal. The French rank has nothing to do with supplies. This rank is also used by many other navies based on the French Navy. Quartermaster was similarly a junior naval rank in the German navy.
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Scout quartermaster*
Quartermaster Center and School*
Quartermaster Corps*
Quartermaster general*
Army Quartermaster Museum
