Republic of China Armed Forces rank insignia

The Republic of China Armed Forces in Taiwan has five rank schemes among different military branches, including Army,[1] Navy,[2] and Air Force.[3] The Marine Corps,[4] although being a part of the Navy, maintains a different insignia to other naval fleet personnel. The Military Police has insignia very similar to the Army, just with a slightly different green color which is olive green. Under the current regulations, military ranks contain the following:

The official military rank names in Traditional Chinese are identical across all different military branches, but their English translations may be different.

History

Insignia of Generalissimo

The rank system of the Republic of China Armed Forces was originally based on that of the Wehrmacht of Germany (Weimar Republic and early era of Nazi Germany) during the era of Sino-German cooperation in the 1930s. Due to the German influence, the rank of one-star general or admiral does not use the French-style title of Brigadier General, but the German-style title of Major General (Army, Air force and Marines) or Rear Admiral (Navy).

After the government of the Republic of China relocated to Taiwan in December 1949, the military rank system had a large reform in 1956. The rank structure is getting closer to the one used by the United States Armed Forces.

Before 2000, Generalissimo (Chinese: 特級上將; pinyin: Tèjí Shàngjiàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Te̍k-kip Siōng-chiòng) was the highest military rank of the Armed Forces. It was bestowed only once, to Chiang Kai-shek in 1935. This rank was abolished since 2000.

The rank of full general (Chinese: 一級上將; pinyin: Yījí Shàngjiàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: It-kip Siōng-chiòng) was designed for the Chief of the General Staff and some senior military strategy advisors in the Office of the President. Since 2013, the new regulations have all these positions shall be with lower rank generals. The rank of full general will be granted only in wartime.

Officers

Level General officersField officersJunior officers
Rank 一級上將二級上將中將少將 上校中校少校 上尉中尉少尉
Mandarin Yījí ShàngjiàngÈrjí ShàngjiàngZhōngjiàngShaojiàngShàngxiàoZhōngxiàoShàoxiàoShàngwèiZhōngwèiShàowèi
Taiwanese It-kip Siōng-chiòngJī-kip Siōng-chiòngTiong-chiòngSiáu-chiòngSiōng-hāuTiong-hāuSiáu-hāuSiōng-ùiTiong-ùiSiáu-ùi
Hakka Yit-khi̍p Song-chiôngNgi-khi̍p Song-chiôngChûng-chiôngSeu-chiôngSong-káuChûng-káuSeu-káuSong-víChûng-víSeu-ví
Equivalent
NATO Code
OF-9OF-8OF-7OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1
Republic of China Army
Rank Full generalGeneralLieutenant
general
Major
general
ColonelLieutenant
colonel
Major CaptainFirst
lieutenant
Second
lieutenant
Insignia
Republic of China Military Police
Rank Lieutenant
general
Major
general
ColonelLieutenant
colonel
Major CaptainFirst
lieutenant
Second
lieutenant
Insignia
Republic of China Navy
Rank Full AdmiralAdmiralVice
admiral
Rear
admiral
CaptainCommanderLieutenant
commander
LieutenantLieutenant
(junior grade)
Ensign
Insignia
Republic of China Marine Corps
Rank GeneralLieutenant
general
Major
general
ColonelLieutenant
colonel
Major CaptainFirst
lieutenant
Second
lieutenant
Insignia
Republic of China Air Force
Rank Full generalGeneralLieutenant
general
Major
general
ColonelLieutenant
colonel
Major CaptainFirst
lieutenant
Second
lieutenant
Insignia

Enlisted

Level Non-commissioned officersEnlisted personnels
Rank 一等士官長二等士官長三等士官長 上士中士下士 上等兵一等兵二等兵
Mandarin Yīděng ShìguānzhǎngÈrděng ShìguānzhǎngSānděng ShìguānzhǎngShàngshiZhōngshiXiàshiShàngděng BīngYīděng BīngÈrděng Bīng
Taiwanese It-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿJī-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿSàm-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿSiōng-sūTiong-sūHā-sūSiōng-téng PengIt-téng PengJī-téng Peng
Hakka Yit-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóngNgi-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóngSâm-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóngSong-sṳChûng-sṳHa-sṳSong-tén PînYit-tén PînNgi-tén Pîn
Equivalent
NATO Code
OR-9OR-8OR-7OR-6OR-5OR-4OR-3OR-2OR-1
Republic of China Army
Rank First class
master sergeant
Second class
master sergeant
Third class
master sergeant
Staff sergeantSergeantCorporal Private
specialist
Private
first class
Private
Insignia
Republic of China Military Police
Rank First class
master sergeant
Second class
master sergeant
Third class
master sergeant
Staff sergeantSergeantCorporal Private
specialist
Private
first class
Private
Insignia
Republic of China Navy
Rank First class
chief petty officer
Second class
chief petty officer
Third class
chief petty officer
Petty officer
first class
Petty officer
second class
Petty officer
third class
Seaman
specialist
Seaman
first class
Seaman
Insignia
Republic of China Marine Corps
Rank First class
master sergeant
Second class
master sergeant
Third class
master sergeant
Staff SergeantSergeantCorporal Lance
corporal
Private
first class
Private
Insignia
Republic of China Air Force
Rank First class
master sergeant
Second class
master sergeant
Third class
master sergeant
Staff SergeantSergeantCorporal Senior
airman
Airman
first class
Airman
Insignia

Historic ranks

Officer rank

Rank group General/flag officers Field/senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
特級上將 一級上將 二級上將 中將 少將 代將 上校 中校 少校 上尉 中尉 少尉 准尉 軍校生
Tèjí shàng jiàng Yījí shàng jiàng Èr jí shàng jiàng Zhōng jiàng Shào jiàng Dài jiāng Shàng xiào Zhōng xiào Shào xiào Shàng wèi Zhōng wèi Shào wèi Zhǔn wèi Jūnxiào shēng
Republic of China National Army
[5][6]
Republic of China Air Force
[5][6]
4 fine line & 2 bold line
Republic of China Navy
[7]

Other ranks

Rank group Non-commissioned officers Soldiers
上士 中士 下士 上等兵 一等兵 二等兵
Shàng shì Zhōng shì Xiàshì Shàngděngbīng Yī děng bīng Èrděngbīng
Republic of China National Army[6]

See also

References

Citations

Sources

  • Mollo, Andrew (2001). The Armed Forces of World War II: Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation. Leicester: Silverdale books. ISBN 1-85605-603-1.
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