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An officer of The Salvation Army is a Salvationist who is in essence a minister of the Christian faith, but who fulfills many other roles not usually fulfilled by clergy of other denominations. They do so having been trained and commissioned to service and leadership and given a quasi-military rank.
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Candidacy and Training
When applying to become a Salvation Army officer, strict acceptance guidelines must be adhered to before training can commence. Each Territory will have similar conditions that applicants must fulfill prior to entry and include, but are not limited to, the following, they must:
- Believe they are called to full-time ministry, specifically Officership.
- Be active Soldier's in their local Salvation Army corps.
- Receive a recommendation from the Corps Officer of that Corps.
- Be endorsed by the Divisional Candidate Secretary(s).
- Partake in a formal interview with the Territorial Candidacy Board and Territorial Candidate Secretary(s).
While attending a College for Officer Training, the training participants are referred to as 'Cadets'. The length of training is normally two years, but a special dispensation may allow cadets to be commissioned after a shorter period, based on prior experience or training. Once this training is complete, the Cadets are commissioned.
Commissioning and Posting
Commissioning see's the Cadets promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and formalizes the Cadet's first posting (commonly referred to as 'Marching Orders'). These orders can send the new Lieutenants anywhere in the territory, and sometimes even see them posted to other territories that could involve overseas service.
Officers have the opportunity to serve within the Salvation Army in many different capacities, and may be posted at a Corps , Divisional / Territorial Headquarters, the Training College, The Trade, a Recovery / Rehabilitation centre, as a Chaplain (Eg. courts & prisons, hospitals), a street level outreach centre, a new or newer Corps (known as an 'Outpost' or 'Plant'), and any number of other need specific ministries.
In the majority of cases, Officers are given 'Farewell Orders' every two to five years in which they are reassigned to different posts, sometimes moving great distances, but some may be moved after anywhere between 3 months and 16 years.
Uniform
The uniform of an Officer is much like that of a Soldier, and like a Soldiers, is defined by the region in which the person is serving. The consistent difference between the two uniforms is that the Officers uniform has red or maroon eppaulettes on the shoulders, whilst a Soldiers are blue. Officers epaulettes feature the Salvation 'S', as well as another insignia to designate rank. These insignia may be sewn into the epaulette, or be separate metal pins attached to the epaulettes.[1]
| Rank | Insignia |
|---|---|
| General | Velvet with gold crest and trim |
| Commissioner | Velvet with silver crest and trim |
| Colonel | Crest with silver trim and silver trim around "s" patches |
| Lieutenant-Colonel | Crest with silver trim |
| Major | Crest |
| Captain | Two stars |
| Lieutenant | One star |
| Cadet | Blue bar or Red bar |
Rank system
Below are the ranks held by Officers of The Salvation Army, from highest to lowest.
| Rank | Date adopted | Current Status | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 1878 | Active | The worldwide leader of The Salvation Army, elected by the most senior Salvation Army officers in the world. | |
| Commissioner | 1880 | Active | The leader of a Territory. International Secretaries are also usually given the rank Commissioner. | |
| Lieutenant-Commissioner | 1920 | Discontinued (1973) | ||
| Colonel | 1880 | Active | Reserved for territorial and international leaders. | |
| Lieutenant-Colonel | Active | Reserved for senior chief secretaries in the larger territories and for senior command leaders in countries where the Army is a ‘command’ and not a territory. | ||
| Brigadier | 1889 | Discontinued (1973) | Rank consisted of a Major's Crest with Two Stars | |
| Senior-Major | 1948 | Discontinued (1959) | Rank consisted of a Major's Crest with One Star | |
| Major | 1879 | Active | After 15 years of service the officer is promoted to Major. | |
| Staff-Captain | 1881 | Discontinued (1931) | This was a rank created to differentiate officer assigned to headquarters from field officers. | Rank consisted of Three Stars |
| Field-Major | 1921 | Discontinued (1931) | ||
| Commandant | 1916 | Discontinued (1931) | ||
| Adjutant | 1888 | Discontinued (1948) | ||
| Ensign | 1888 | Discontinued (1931) | ||
| Senior-Captain | 1948 | Discontinued (1959) | ||
| Captain | 1877 | Active | After 5 years of service the officer is promoted to Captain. | |
| Lieutenant | 1879 | Discontinued (2001) Reinstated (2008) |
Following two years at Officer Training College, the Cadet is ordained to the rank of Lieutenant. | |
| First Lieutenant | 1948 | Discontinued (1959) | ||
| Second Lieutenant | 1948 | Discontinued (1959) | ||
| Probationary Lieutenant | 1917 | Discontinued (1973) | ||
| Cadet-Lieutenant | 2001 | Discontinued (2008) | ||
| Cadet | 1880 | Active | A Salvation Army church member, or soldier, who has been called to become an officer and is undertaking training with The Salvation Army Officer Training College. | |
| Candidate | ? | Active | ||
| Envoy | Active | A non-commissioned officer who works for The Salvation Army in a ministry position. |
Amendments to Envoy / Lieutenant Status
After a lengthy discussion with other Salvation Army leaders, General Shaw Clifton announced in November 2007 that the rank of Lieutenant would be re-instated on March 1, 2008. All cadets will now be commissioned as Lieutenants for a period of five years. The rank of Cadet-Lieutenant will be discontinued on that same date.
All officers serving as Lieutenants in the UK territory now receive the rank "Territorial Envoy" (as opposed to "divisional envoy"). Territorial Envoys are soldiers who wish to work as non-commissioned Officers for a limited time, usually three years. This replaced the rank of Envoy and Auxiliary-Captain. Other territories have made other 'ranks' to reflect this status such as feldsergeant in Germany; Sergeant-major in the Ukraine; Envoy in Russia and Corpsenvoy in the Netherlands.
See also
- Generals of The Salvation Army
- Chief of the Staff of The Salvation Army
- High Council of The Salvation Army
- Soldier of The Salvation Army
References
- ^ http://salvationarmy.org.nz/uploads/uniforms_catalogue_28Sept2009.pdf New Zealand Trade Catalogue
- ^ http://www.uss.salvationarmy.org/USS/www_uss_atlanta.nsf/vw-sublinks/D1C5C86943AFFE908525757B006098BA?openDocument List of
- ^ http://www.salvationarmy.org.au/SALV/STANDARD/PC_60011.html Rank explanations (incomplete)
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