Senior Colonel

Senior Colonel is a field grade officer rank placed between a regular Colonel and a Major General. The rank typically exists in militaries that do not maintain a rank of Brigadier General/Brigadier.

A Senior Captain position existed in the German Navy which maintained the rank of Kommodore. Also, a "Senior Colonel" position was known in both the SA and SS (in the branches of the Allgemeine SS or General SS and Waffen-SS or Armed SS) by the rank of Oberführer which did not exist in the German Army.

After World War II, nations in the Communist sphere began establishing Senior Colonel ranks of their own. Today, the rank of Senior Colonel may be found in the militaries of China (Da Xiao (大校)), North Korea (Taejwa (대좌)), Thailand (พันเอกพิเศษ) and Vietnam (Đại tá).

Most western militaries tend to equate a Senior Colonel as a "Brigadier General in disguise"; however, this is not necessarily so. Nations which maintain senior Colonel ranks may also have five General ranks (most such nations also having the rank of Colonel General), but not the People's Republic of China. A Senior Colonel is also not befitted honors of a General or Flag Officer and is simply seen as the highest field officer rank before the General grades. In this sense, the rank may be seen as comparable to the rank of Brigadier in the British and some other Commonwealth armies, similarly a senior field rank. (In modern China the rank of Senior Colonel is intended as a way to promote distinguished Colonels, without unnecessarily swelling the numbers of general officers.) Most Senior Colonels serve as the Commander, Political Commissar, or Deputy Commanders of a division.

A similar title to Senior Colonel is that of Senior Captain, also used in most Communist countries. However, it may also be found in some western militaries as a staff rank appointed to a regular Captain.

The term Senior Colonel is also used informally and unofficially in the U.S. military for Colonels who have either been selected for promotion to Brigadier General but not actually promoted yet, or for veteran Colonels who are particularly experienced and influential.

The naval equivalent for a Senior Colonel is the non-flag Commodore or Fleet Captain, although it is sometimes referred to as Senior Captain.

See also

• Colonel Commandant
• Comparative military ranks