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Military ranks of Austria

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The Military ranks of Austria (or Ranks of the Bundesheer) are the military insignia used by the Austrian Armed Forces. Austria is a landlocked country and has no navy.

Commissioned officer ranks

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The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
Cap[1]
Service uniform[1]
Field uniform[1]
General Generalleutnant Generalmajor Brigadier Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann Oberleutnant Leutnant Fähnrich

Official translation[1] General Lieutenant general Major general Brigadier general Colonel Lieutenant colonel Major Captain First lieutenant Second lieutenant Officer cadet
Equivalent
NATO code[a]
OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1 OF(D)

Other ranks

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The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group Non-commissioned officer Enlisted
Cap[1]
Service uniform[1]
Field uniform[1]
Vizeleutnant Offiziersstellvertreter Oberstabswachtmeister Stabswachtmeister Oberwachtmeister Wachtmeister Zugsführer Korporal Gefreiter Rekrut

Official translation[1] Warrant officer I Warrant officer II Warrant officer III Staff sergeant Master sergeant Sergeant Master corporal Corporal Lance corporal Private
Equivalent
NATO code[a]
OR-9 OR-8 OR-7 OR-6 OR-5 OR-4 OR-3 OR-2 OR-1

Special case military gymnasium

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Pupils (German: Zöglinge) of the Military gymnasium wear black shoulder rank insignias on their dress uniform. On the duty suits black mounting loops have to be worn. However, the particular insignia has to be in line with actual school level. The appropriate school year is symbolised by a small golden strip.

Possible appointments in correlation to rank or grade

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Rank group Military rank Possible appointments/ assignments
Military staff (without any rank or grade) Rekrut
(Wehrmann until 1998)[2]
Generic infantryman
Charges Gefreiter Generic infantryman
Korporal Assistant squad leader
Zugsführer
Unteroffiziere Wachtmeister Squad leader
Oberwachtmeister
Stabsunteroffiziere Stabswachtmeister
Oberstabswachtmeister
Offiziersstellvertreter Platoon leader
Vizeleutnant
Officers Fähnrich Military academy graduate and officer candidate (OA)
Leutnant Platoon leader
Oberleutnant Company executive officer
Hauptmann Company commander
Major
  • Battalion commander (BN CDR)
  • Headquarters company commander
Oberstleutnant Battalion commander
Oberst
General officers Brigadier Brigade commander
Generalmajor
(formerly Divisionär)
  • Chief of Staff in the Ministry of Defence
  • Chief of Operational Staff in the Ministry of Defence
  • Commanding general of the Air Force
Generalleutnant
(formerly Korpskommandant)
  • Commanding general of the Operational Forces
General
  • Chief of the General Staff of the Austrian Bundesheer

Additions

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To the rank or grade might be (among others) added addendums as follows.

Abbreviation Long version
A Arzt (en: physician)
aD außer Dienst (off duty)
dG des Generalstabsdienstes (of the general staff service)
dhmfD des höheren militärfachlichen Dienstes (of the higher military specialised service)
dhmtD des höheren militärtechnischen Dienstes (of the higher military technical service)
dIntD des Intendanzdienstes (of the commissariat service)
dRes der Reserve (of the reserve)
iR in Ruhe (retired)

e.g.: MjrA (major physician), Lt aD (lieutenant off duty), ObstdG (colonel of the general staff service), HptmdhmtD (captain of the higher military technical service), ObstltdIntD (lieutenant colonel of the commissariat service), Olt dRes (first lieutenant of the reserve), Bgdr iR (general brigadier retired).

Historic ranks

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Commissioned officer ranks

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Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
1933–1938[3]
General der Waffengattung Feldmarschall-Leutnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstleutnant Major Hauptmann / Rittmeister Oberleutnant Leutnant

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b While Austria is not a member of NATO, it does have an official conversion.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i bundesheer.
  2. ^ "915 der Beilagen zu den Stenographischen Protokollen des Nationalrates XX. GP" (PDF). Österreichisches Parlament. 10 December 1997. p. 51. Retrieved 19 November 2010. Im Hinblick auf die geplante Öffnung des Bundesheeres für freiwillige militärische Dienstleistungen von Frauen soll der niederste militärische Dienstgrad statt derzeit "Wehrmann" künftig einheitlich für beide Geschlechter mit dem Begriff "Rekrut" bezeichnet werden.
  3. ^ Handbook 1937, Table VI–VII.
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