Ranks of the Bundesheer
The Austrian army of the Second Republic has 21 military ranks. Gorget patches generally show corps colors (Waffenfarbe), as is presented below.
Military ranks
Generals
Rank group | Generals | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Field suit | ||||
Suit 75/03 | ||||
Jacket gorget | ||||
Flat cap | ||||
Rank | General* (Gen) | Generalleutnant (GenLt) | Generalmajor (GenMjr) | Brigadier (Bgdr) |
NATO equivalent | General | Lieutenant general | Major general | Brigadier general |
rank | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 |
*The federal-eagle on the flat cap is underlaid in red colour . |
Officers
Rank group | Officers | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Field suit | |||||||
Suit 75/03 | |||||||
Jacket gorget | |||||||
Corps colour | Military medicine | Support service |
Advanced | Technical service |
Jäger Military police |
Armour Panzergrenadiers |
Theresianische Militärakademie |
Veterinarian service | mil-specialized service | ||||||
Flat cap | |||||||
Rank | Oberst (Obst) | Oberstleutnant (Obstlt) | Major (Mjr) | Hauptmann (Hptm) | Oberleutnant (Olt) | Leutnant (Lt) | Fähnrich (Austria) (Fhr) |
NATO equivalent | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major | Captain | 1st Lieutenant | 2nd Lieutenant | Officer Cadet |
rank | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | a | b | c |
OF-1 |
- See also main article
- Waffenfarbe (Austria)
Non-commissioned officers
Rank group | Staff NCOs (de: Stabsunteroffiziere) | NCOs (de: Unteroffiziere) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Field suit | ||||||
Suit 75/03 | ||||||
Jacket gorget | ||||||
Corps colour | Signals | Artillery, Air defence | Guard | Reconnaissance | Medical service | Aviator |
Flat cap | ||||||
Rank | Vizeleutnant (Vzlt) |
Offiziersstellvertreter (OStv) |
Oberstabswachtmeister (OStWm) |
Stabswachtmeister (StWm) |
Oberwachtmeister (OWm) |
Wachtmeister (Wm) |
NATO equivalent | Command Sergeant Major (CSM) | Sergeant Major (SGM) | 1st Sergeant (1SG) | Sergeant 1st Class (SFC) | Staff Sergeant (SSG) | Sergeant (SGT) |
rank | a | b | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 |
OR-9 |
Charges and recruits
Rank group | Charges (de: Chargen) | Recruits (de: Rekruten) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Field suit | ||||
Anzug 75/03 | ||||
Jacket gorget | ||||
Corps colour | Engineers | Special Forces, Army sports | NBC-Defence | Jäger, Military police |
Peaked cap | ||||
Rank | Zugsführer (Zgf) | Korporal (Kpl) | Gefreiter (Gfr) | Rekrut (Rek) |
NATO equivalent | Corporal | Private 1st Class | Private | no insignia Private |
rank | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 |
Special case military gymnasium
Pupils (de: Zöglinge) of the Military gymnasium wear black shoulder rank insignias on their dress uniform. On the duty suits black mounting loops have to be worn. However, the particular insignia has to be in line with actual school level. The appropriate school year is symbolised by a small golden strip.
See also
Possible appointments in correlation to rank or grade
Rank group | Military rank | Possible appointments/ assignments |
---|---|---|
Military staff (without any rank or grade) | Rekrut (Wehrmann until 1998)[1] |
Generic infantryman |
Charges | Gefreiter | Generic infantryman |
Korporal | Squad leader dep. | |
Zugsführer | ||
Unteroffiziere | Wachtmeister | Squad leader |
Oberwachtmeister | ||
Stabsunteroffiziere | Stabswachtmeister |
|
Oberstabswachtmeister | ||
Offiziersstellvertreter |
| |
Vizeleutnant | ||
Officers | Fähnrich | Military university graduate and Officer Aspirant (OA) |
Leutnant | Platoon leader | |
Oberleutnant | Company commander (CO CDR) dep. | |
Hauptmann | CO CDR | |
Major |
| |
Oberstleutnant |
| |
Oberst | ||
General officers | Brigadier |
|
Generalmajor (formerly Divisionär) |
| |
Generalleutnant (formerly Korpskommandant) |
| |
General |
|
Additions
To the rank or grade might be (among others) added addendums as follows.
Abbreviation | Long version |
---|---|
A | Arzt (en: physician) |
aD | außer Dienst (off duty) |
dG | des Generalstabsdienstes (of the general staff service) |
dhmfD | des höheren militärfachlichen Dienstes (of the higher military specialised service) |
dhmtD | des höheren militärtechnischen Dienstes (of the higher military technical service) |
dIntD | des Intendanzdienstes (of the commissariat service) |
dRes | der Reserve (of the reserve) |
iR | in Ruhe (retired) |
e.g.: MjrA (major physician), Lt aD (lieutenant off duty), ObstdG (colonel of the general staff service), HptmdhmtD (captain of the higher military technical service), ObstltdIntD (lieutenant colonel of the commissariat service), Olt dRes (first lieutenant of the reserve), Bgdr iR (general brigadier retired).
References
- "915 der Beilagen zu den Stenographischen Protokollen des Nationalrates XX. GP" (PDF). Österreichisches Parlament. 10 December 1997. p. 51. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
Im Hinblick auf die geplante Öffnung des Bundesheeres für freiwillige militärische Dienstleistungen von Frauen soll der niederste militärische Dienstgrad statt derzeit "Wehrmann" künftig einheitlich für beide Geschlechter mit dem Begriff "Rekrut" bezeichnet werden.