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:
- Officers (軍官) can be classified into three(3) levels (generals, colonels, captains), and to ten(10) ranks,
- Non-commissioned officers (士官) can be classified into six(6) ranks, and
- Enlisted personnels (士兵) can be classified into three(3) ranks.
- Shoulder ingsania of military police personnel are labelled with this pattern except general officers and enlisted personnels
The official military rank names in Traditional Chinese are identical across all different military branches, but their English translations may be different.
History
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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
Enlisted
Historic ranks
Officer rank
Rank group | General/flag officers | Field/senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | |
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See also
References
Citations
- Republic of China Army (Since 1981)
- Republic of China Navy (Since 1981)
- Republic of China Air Force (Since 1981)
- Republic of China Marine Corps (Since 1981)
- DI (15 June 2015). "World War 2 Allied Officers Rank Insignia". Daily Infographics. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- Mollo 2001, p. 192.
- Mollo 2001, p. 194.
Sources
- Mollo, Andrew (2001). The Armed Forces of World War II: Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation. Leicester: Silverdale books. ISBN 1-85605-603-1.