Military ranks of Brazil

Military of Brazil

Components Army Air Force Navy Military Police Ranks Military ranks of Brazil History Military history of Brazil

This article presents the insignia and ranks of the Brazilian military. These ranks originate from those adopted upon Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822. Nowadays they are defined by Act no. 6880 of December 9, 1980.^[1] The following ranks show Brazil's military insignia and its corresponding NATO codes.

Air Force ranks date from 1941, when the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira) was organized as a merger of the Navy's Aeronaval Force and the Army's Aviation Service.^[2]

Rank table

The shoulder epaulette pads from Navy and Air Force indicate both rank and specialty branch. The air force examples below are shown without branch designation marks on the epaulettes, with the exception of the ranks of Air Lieutenant-Brigadier and Air Marshall, which can only be occupied by pilots. Army shoulder pads do not represent branch, as this is indicated elsewhere in the uniform like on the cuff and sleeves of the dress and everyday uniforms.

Officers

All officer ranks differ per service as shown in the colors used in the epaulette pads. The Navy also uses cuff rank insignia like most navies everywhere.

Brazilian Navy	Brazilian Army	Brazilian Air Force	Brazilian Military Police and Military Firefighters
General Officers and Flag Officers
Admiral (Almirante) OF-10[3]	Marshal (Marechal) OF-10[3]	Air Marshal (Marechal-do-ar) OF-10[3]	(No equivalent)
Squadron Admiral (Almirante-de-esquadra) OF-9	Army General (General-de-exército) OF-9	Air Lieutenant Brigadier (Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar) OF-9	(No direct rank equivalent; equates to some senior appointments of Colonel)
Vice Admiral (Vice-almirante) OF-7	Divisional General (General-de-divisão) OF-7	Brigadier Major (Major-Brigadeiro) OF-7	(No direct rank equivalent; equates to some senior appointments of Colonel)
Rear Admiral (Contra-almirante) OF-6	Brigade General (General-de-brigada) OF-6	Brigadier (Brigadeiro) OF-6	(No direct rank equivalent; equates to some senior appointments of Colonel)
Senior Officers
Captain of Sea and War (Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra) OF-5	Colonel (Coronel) OF-5	Colonel (Coronel) OF-5	Colonel (Coronel) OF-5
Frigate Captain (Capitão-de-fragata) OF-4	Lieutenant Colonel (Tenente-coronel) OF-4	Lieutenant Colonel (Tenente-coronel) OF-4	Lieutenant Colonel (Tenente-coronel) OF-4
Corvette Captain (Capitão-de-corveta) OF-3	Major (Major) OF-3	Major (Major) OF-3	Major (Major) OF-3
Intermediary Officers
Captain Lieutenant (Capitão-tenente) OF-2	Captain (Capitão) OF-2	Captain (Capitão) OF-2	Captain (Capitão) OF-2
Subaltern Officers
First Lieutenant (Primeiro-tenente) OF-1	First Lieutenant (Primeiro-tenente) OF-1	First Lieutenant (Primeiro-tenente) OF-1	First Lieutenant (Primeiro-tenente) OF-1
Second Lieutenant (Segundo-tenente) OF-1	Second Lieutenant (Segundo-tenente) OF-1	Second Lieutenant (Segundo-tenente) OF-1	Second Lieutenant (Segundo-tenente) OF-1
Special non-commissioned officers[4]
Midshipman (Guarda-marinha) OF-D	Aspirant Officer (Aspirante-a-oficial) OF-D	Aspirant (Aspirante) OF-D	Aspirant Officer (Aspirante-a-oficial) OF-D
Non-commissioned ranks
Warrant Officer/Sub-officer (Suboficial)	Warrant Officer/Sublieutenant (Subtenente)	Warrant Officer/Sub-officer (Suboficial)	Warrant Officer/Sublieutenant (Subtenente)

Enlisted

Brazilian Army

First Sergeant (primeiro-sargento)	Second Sergeant (segundo-sargento)	Third Sergeant (terceiro-sargento)	Corporal (cabo)	Private (soldado)

Brazilian Navy

First Sergeant (primeiro-sargento)	Second Sergeant (segundo-sargento')	Third Sergeant (terceiro-sargento)	Leading Seaman (cabo)	Seaman (marinheiro)

Brazilian Air Force

First Sergeant (primeiro-sargento)	Second Sergeant (segundo-sargento)	Third Sergeant (terceiro-sargento)	Corporal (cabo)	Airman (soldado)

Brazilian Military Police

First Sergeant (Primeiro Sargento)	Second Sergeant (Segundo Sargento)	Third Sergeant (Terceiro Sargento)	Corporal (Cabo)	Private (Soldado)

Notes

1. ^ Act no. 6880 of December 9, 1980.
2. ^ Instituto Histórico e Cultural da Aeronáutica, História geral da aeronáutica brasileira, v. 3
3. ^ ^{a b c} Wartime use only
4. ^ As treated by Act 6880/1980, the "special non-commissioned officers" listed here are non-commissioned officers that are on their way to become full-fledged commissioned officers. As such, in most instances they are treated the same as subaltern officers and take on basically the same tasks. As a rule, however, special non-commissioned officers do not take on command jobs.

See also

• Military rank
• Comparative military ranks

External links

• Brazilian Ministry of Defence Ministério da Defesa (Portuguese)
• Military Orders and Medals from Brazil (Portuguese)