Commonwealth of Nations Forces
A sergeant major will normally be the senior non-commissioned member of an army or marine unit. There are normally two grades of sergeant major, with the first grade being the senior soldier of a company, battery or squadron and the second, higher grade being the senior soldier of a battalion or regiment. The title normally consists of the unit title (e.g. 'company') followed by 'sergeant major', and abbreviated by the initials (e.g. CSM). A sergeant major of a regiment or battalion is known as a regimental sergeant major, rather than a "regiment sergeant major" or "battalion sergeant major".
The sergeant-major of a unit is normally directly responsible to the commanding officer for all matters pertaining to dress, deportment, discipline, conduct, performance, standards and morale of the non-commissioned members (NCMs) of that unit. Sergeants major are normally addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" by subordinates, and by Mr or Ms (surname) by superiors, with the term 'RSM'/'CSM'/etc reserved for the sergeant major's commanding officer.
Read more about this topic: Sergeant Major
Famous quotes containing the words commonwealth, nations and/or forces:
“Honorable Senators: My sincerest thanks I offer you. Conserve the firm foundations of our institutions. Do your work with the spirit of a soldier in the public service. Be loyal to the Commonwealth and to yourselves and be brief; above all be brief.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 25:32,33.
“There are only two forces that can carry light to all the corners of the globe ... the sun in the heavens and the Associated Press down here.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)