- Acting Pilot Officer
Acting Pilot Officer (APO) is the lowest commissioned grade in the
Royal Air Force , being immediately junior toPilot Officer . Unlike other RAF ranks which officers may hold in an acting capacity, Acting Pilot Officer is maintained as a separate grade. It normally denotes an officer who has recently been commissioned and joined as a non-graduate direct entrant. Acting Pilot Officer is not an actual rank, and APOs are later regraded to Pilot Officer, not promoted.Although Acting Pilot Officer has a
NATO ranking code of OF-1, neither theBritish Army ,Royal Marines norRoyal Navy has an exactly equivalent rank. As Acting Pilot Officers are junior toSecond Lieutenant s in the British Army or the Royal Marines and to Royal NavySub-Lieutenant s, the rank is the most junior commissioned rank in the British Armed Forces. However, Acting Pilot Officers are senior to Royal Navy Midshipmen.Senior
cadets on aUniversity Air Squadron may become Acting Pilot Officers.The rank insignia is identical to that of a Pilot Officer, consisting of a thin blue band on slightly wider black band. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform.
See also
*
RAF officer ranks
*Comparative military ranks References
* [http://www.uniforminsignia.net/?p=read&id=8 The International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia Around the World - NATO Standardization Agreement - Officer personnel]
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