Colonel (Canada)

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of colonel (Col) (French: colonel or col) is a rank for officers who wear army or air force uniform, equal to a captain for officers who wear navy uniform. A colonel is the highest rank of senior officer. A colonel is senior to a lieutenant-colonel or naval commander, and junior to a brigadier-general or commodore.

Typical appointments for colonels include:

Base commander (BComd)
Wing commander (Wg Comd)
Commanding officer of a school or training establishment, such as commandant of the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, or commander of Combat Training Centre Gagetown
Commander of a brigade group
Branch advisor
Military attaché to foreign nations

The rank insignia for air force uniform is four 1⁄2-inch (1.3 cm) stripes, worn on the cuffs of the service dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The insignia for army uniform is two stars and a crown. The insignia worn on the headdress for an army colonel is the crest of the Canadian coat of arms: a crowned gold lion with a maple leaf in its paw standing on a red-and-white wreath, all beneath the royal crown; the collar insignia is two crossed sabres. Some colonels, by nature of holding a specific appointment, may continue to wear the insignia of their personnel branch or regiment; for example, the honorary colonel of an infantry regiment. Air force colonels wear the badge of their personnel branch (most often the Air Operations Branch) on their headdress.

Colonels are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am".

Before unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern.

Army uniform variations
Dress uniform tunic
Uniform shirts
Olive green uniform (old insignia)
CADPAT uniform (old insignia)
Arid-region CADPAT uniform (old insignia)

Air Force uniform variations
Dress uniform tunic
Uniform shirts (old insignia)
CADPAT uniform

Honorary ranks and appointments

There are also several honorary ranks and appointments associated with the rank of colonel, or containing the word "colonel" in their title.

Personnel holding these honorary ranks are not part of the military operational chain-of-command. Rather, they serve in a ceremonial manner, often as a guest of honour at parades, mess dinners, or at other military traditions such as during Remembrance Day. Usually, honorary ranks are filled by people who have had a prior association with the battalion, regiment, or squadron they represent. Princess Patricia of Connaught was the colonel-in-chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, one of the most decorated infantry regiments in the Canadian Forces (CF). An honorary colonel of a CF flying or air maintenance squadron may be a past commanding officer of that squadron (who has since retired from active duty), or an air ace during the war.