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 of, commonwealth, nations and/or forces:
“This little world, this little state, this little commonwealth of our own....”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“I’the commonwealth I would by contraries
Execute all things; for no kind of traffic
Would I admit; no name of magistrate;
Letters should not be known; riches, poverty,
And use of service, none; contract, succession,
Bourn, bound of land, tilth, vineyard, none;
No use of metal, corn, or wine, or oil;
No occupation; all men idle, all,
And women too, but innocent and pure.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Firm in our beliefs without dismay,
In any game the nations want to play.
A golden age of poetry and power
Of which this noonday’s the beginning hour.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“The most exciting happiness is the happiness generated by forces beyond your control.”
—Ogden Nash (1902–1971)