Commodore is a military rank used in many navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a navy captain, but is less than that of a rear admiral. Non English-speaking nations often use the rank Counter Admiral instead.
It is often regarded as a 1 star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always regarded as a flag rank.[1]
It is sometimes abbreviated as Cdre, CDRE or COMO.[2]
History
The rank of Commodore derives from the French commandeur, which was one of the highest ranks in orders of knighthood, and in military orders the title of the knight in charge of a commenda (a local part of the order's territorial possessions).
The Royal Netherlands Navy also used the rank of commandeur from the end of the 16th century for a variety of temporary positions, until it became a conventional permanent rank in 1955. The Royal Netherlands Air Force has adopted the English spelling of Commodore for an equivalent rank.
The rank of Commodore was at first a position created as a temporary title to be bestowed upon Captains who commanded squadrons of more than one vessel. In many navies, the rank of Commodore was merely viewed as a Senior Captain position, whereas other naval services bestowed upon the rank of Commodore the prestige of flag officer status - Commodore is the highest rank in the Irish Naval Service, for example, and is held by only one person. In the Royal Navy, the position was introduced to combat the cost of appointing more Admirals - a costly business with a fleet as large as the Royal Navy's at that time.
In 1899 the substantive rank of Commodore was discontinued in the United States Navy, but revived during World War II. It was discontinued as a rank in these services during the postwar period, but as an appointment, the title "Commodore" was then used to identify senior U.S. Navy Captains who commanded squadrons of more than one vessel or functional air wings or air groups that were not part of a carrier air wing or air group. Concurrently, until the early 1980s, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard Captains selected for promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half), would wear the same insignia as Rear Admiral (Upper Half), i.e., two silver stars for collar insignia or sleeve braid of one wide and one narrow gold stripe, even though they were actually only equivalent to one star officers. To correct this inequity, the rank of Commodore as a single star Flag Officer was reinstated by both services in the early 1980s. This immediately caused confusion with those senior U.S. Navy Captains commanding destroyer squadrons, submarine squadrons, functional air wings and air groups, etc., who held the temporary "title" of Commodore. As a result of this confusion, the services soon renamed the new one star rank as Commodore Admiral (CADM) within the first six months following the rank's reintroduction. This was considered an awkward title and the rank was renamed a few months later to its current title of Rear Admiral (Lower Half), or RDML. The "title" of Commodore continues to be used in the U.S. Navy for those senior Captains in command of organizations consisting of groups of ships or submarines organized into squadrons, air wings or air groups of aviation squadrons other than carrier air wings, special warfare (SEAL) groups, and construction battalion (SeaBee) regiments. Although not Flag Officers, modern day Commodores in the U.S. Navy rate a blue and white command pennant that is normally flown at their headquarters facilities ashore or from ships they are embarked aboard.
Naval rank
The following articles deal with the rank of Commodore (or its equivalent) as it is employed in various countries.
Australian shoulder boards
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Air force ranks
Commodore, in Spanish Comodoro, is a rank in the Argentine Air Force. This rank is the equivalent of a Colonel in the Argentine Army, and a Colonel or Group Captain in other air forces of the world. The Argentine rank below Commodore is the rank of Vice-Commodore, in Spanish Vicecomodoro, equivalent to a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Argentine Army, and a Lieutenant-Colonel or Wing Commander in other air forces.
Commodore is a rank in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. It is a 1 star rank and has essentially the same rank insignia as the British Air Commodore.
Many air forces, use the rank of Air Commodore. This rank was first used by the Royal Air Force and is now used in many countries such as India, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Nigeria. It is the equivalent rank to the navy rank of "commodore", and the army ranks of brigadier and brigadier general.
The German air force used the concept of a unit Commodore, although this was a unit command appointment rather than a rank.
Merchant and boating rank
Commodore is also a title held by the senior captain within a shipping company and by the senior officer of many yacht clubs and boating associations.
Convoy commodore
During wartime, a shipping convoy will have a ranking officer -- sometimes an active-duty naval officer, at other times a civilian master or retired naval officer -- designated as the convoy commodore. This title is not related to the individual's military rank (if any), but instead is the title of the senior individual responsible for the overall operation of the merchant ships and naval auxiliary ships that make up the convoy. The convoy commodore does not command the convoy' escort forces (if any), which are commanded by a naval officer who serves as escort commander.
Other uses
In the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the senior elected officer of the organization is the National Commodore, while there are Commodores elected for the Atlantic and Pacific regions.
Vanderbilt University's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Commodores, a reference to Cornelius Vanderbilt's self-appointed title (he was the master of a large shipping fleet).
In the U.S. Sea Scouting program (which is part of the Boy Scouts of America), all National, Regional, Area, and Council committee chairs are titled as Commodore, while senior committee members are addressed as Vice Commodore. Ship Committee chairs do not hold this recognition.
References and notes
- ^ Whether "commodore" is a flag rank (or not) varies by country. Often, "rear admiral" is the first of the "flag ranks". For example, it was not until 2001 that the UK made "commodore" a "flag rank", and changed the rank insignia of the higher ranking admirals accordingly. Australia made this change in the mid 1990s, and also changed the commodore rank insignia to include a star.
- ^ The "Cdre" abbreviation for the OF-6 rank of commodore is sometimes confused with the "Cmdr" abbreviation for the OF-4 rank of "commander".
- ^ U.S. Commodore is not a current rank. The insignia is used for Rear Admiral (Lower Half).
See also
