Commandant (rank)

Common anglophone military ranks
Navies	Armies	Air forces
Officers
Admiral of the fleet	Marshal / field marshal	Marshal of the Air Force
Admiral	General	Air marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group captain
Commander	Lieutenant colonel	Wing commander
Lieutenant commander	Major / commandant	Squadron leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying officer
Ensign	2nd lieutenant	Pilot officer
Midshipman	Officer cadet	Officer cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Warrant officer	Sergeant major	Warrant officer
Petty officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading seaman	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman

Commandant (pronounced /ˌkɒmənˈdɑːnt/ or /ˌkɒmənˈdænt/) is a military or police rank. In the French, Spanish and Irish armed forces it is a rank equivalent to major. In South Africa for most of the second half of the 20th century, commandant was a rank equivalent to lieutenant-colonel in other countries.

Ireland

Commandant (Comdt) (Ceannfort in Irish) is a military rank in both the Irish Army and Irish Air Corps. It is equivalent to major or squadron leader in other armed forces. In the Irish Naval Service, the equivalent rank is lieutenant commander.

• 

  Irish Army Comdt's subdued rank slide

• 

  Irish Air Corps rank insignia

France

French Air Force commandant

Commandant (shortened from Capitaine-commandant, i.e. a "captain commanding" (a battalion)), is an officer-grade rank of the Military of France, specifically the French Army and the French Air Force, which equals to major.

The commandant is also styled chef de bataillon (Battalion Head) in the Infantry, chef d'escadrons (Squadrons Head) in the armored Cavalry and chef d'escadron (Squadron Head - note the lack of s) in the Artillery and the Gendarmerie.

Commandant is also the style, but not the rank, of the senior officers of the French Navy (capitaine de corvette, capitaine de frégate and capitaine de vaisseau).

French infantry

French cavalry

Prior to the French Revolution, the Major was the officer appointed by the King to keep track of the expenditures and readiness of a regiment. He could have a deputy (an aide-major) and could be either a commoner or a nobleman. A major was graded as a Commissar, not an officer. The officer at commandant rank level was the chef de bataillon or chef d'escadron.

Major is now, however, the most senior Warrant Officer rank, above Adjudant-chef.

Spanish Air Force comandante

Spain

In the Spanish Army and Spanish Air Force, the rank of comandante is senior to a captain and junior to a lieutenant colonel, making it equivalent to the rank of major or squadron leader in English-speaking countries.

Latin America

Commandant, in Spanish Comandante, is a military officer rank used in some Latin American countries.^{[citation needed]} The Chilean Air Force uses the rank of Comandante de Escuadrilla (Squadron Commandant) as a rank equivalent to the British rank of Squadron Leader. The Peruvian Air Force uses the rank of comandante as an equivalent to lieutenant-colonel or wing commander.

Comandante can be translated into English either as "commandant" or as "commander". The rank may also be found in numerous paramilitary organizations, such as the Sandinistas.

The rank Comandante en Jefe, (Commandant-in-Chief or Commander-in-Chief) may be found in the nation of Cuba as a supreme military rank held by Raúl Castro. Translated as "Commander in Chief", the rank of Comandante en Jefe is the equivalent of a Field Marshal or General of the Army.

SA Army Commandant
1950-1994

• 

  Chilean Air Force squadron commandant rank insignia (epaulette)

• 

  Chilean Air Force squadron commandant rank insignia (sleeve)

South Africa

In South Africa, from 1950 to 1994 commandant was the official designation of the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the South African Army, South African Air Force, and South African Medical Service. Prior to this in 19th and early 20th centuries it was the title of the commanding officer of a commando (militia) unit.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom the term commandant usually refers to an appointment not a rank. However, Senior Commandant and Chief Commandant were Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) ranks equivalent to Major and Lieutenant-Colonel respectively used between 1939 and May 1941, when they were replaced by Senior and Chief Commander. These ranks were also used in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force until December 1939, when they were replaced by Squadron Officer and Wing Officer (equating to Squadron Leader and Wing Commander) respectively.

See also

• Captain-Commandant, in the Belgian Army, the highest rank of subaltern officer, ranking above Captain and below Major
• Commandant of the Marine Corps