Rank Structure
The rank structure of the German army is adjusted to the rank structure of the NATO. Unlike its predecessors, the modern German Army does not use the rank of Colonel General. The highest rank for an army officer is Lieutenant General, as the rank of Full General is reserved for the Armed Forces chief of staff or officers serving as NATO officers. Officer cadets do not pass through all enlisted ranks, but are directly promoted to Lieutenant after 36 months of service.
Equivalent US Army ranks are shown below according to "STANAG 2116 NSA MC LO (EDITION 6) – NATO CODES FOR GRADES OF MILITARY PERSONNEL":
| Officers of the German Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General (General) Gen |
Lieutenant General (Generalleutnant) GenLt/GL |
Major General (Generalmajor) GenMaj/GM |
Brigadier General (Brigadegeneral) BrigGen/BG |
Colonel (Oberst) Oberst/O |
Lieutenant Colonel (Oberstleutnant) Oberstlt/OTL |
|||||
| OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | |||||
| Officers of the German Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major (Major) Maj/M |
Staff Captain (Stabshauptmann) StHptm/SH |
Captain (Hauptmann) Hptm/H |
1st Lieutenant (Oberleutnant) OLt /OL |
2nd Lieutenant (Leutnant) Lt/L |
||||||
| OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF-1 | ||||||
| Non-Commissioned Officers of the German Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sergeant Major (Oberstabsfeldwebel) OStFw/OSF |
Master Sergeant (Stabsfeldwebel) StFw/SF |
Sergeant 1st Class (officer cadet) (Oberfähnrich) OFähnr/OFR |
Sergeant 1st Class (Hauptfeldwebel) HptFw/HF |
Staff Sergeant (Oberfeldwebel) OFw/OF |
||||||
| OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | ||||||
| Non-Commissioned Officers of the German Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Sergeant (officer cadet) (Fähnrich) Fähnr/FR |
Staff Sergeant (Feldwebel) Fw/F |
Sergeant (Stabsunteroffizier) StUffz/SU |
Corporal (officer cadet) (Fahnenjunker) Fhj/FJ |
Corporal (Unteroffizier) Uffz/U |
||||||
| OR-6 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-5 | OR-5 | ||||||
| Enlisted Ranks of the German Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporal Specialist (Oberstabsgefreiter) OStGefr/OSG |
Specialist (Stabsgefreiter) StGefr/SG |
Lance Corporal (Hauptgefreiter) HptGefr/HG |
Private 1st Class (NCO cadet) (Obergefreiter UA) OGefr/OG |
Private 1st Class (Obergefreiter) OGefr/OG |
||||||
| OR-4 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-3 | OR-3 | ||||||
| Enlisted Ranks of the German Army | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private 1st Class (officer cadet) (Gefreiter OA) Gefr/G |
Private 1st Class (Sergeant cadet) (Gefreiter FA) Gefr/G |
Private 1st Class (NCO cadet) (Gefreiter UA) Gefr/G |
Private 1st Class (Gefreiter) Gefr/G |
Private (Soldat) S |
||||||
| OR-2 | OR-2 | OR-2 | OR-2 | OR-1 | ||||||
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