Military ranks of the Swiss Armed Forces

The military ranks of the Swiss Armed Forces have changed little over the centuries, except for the introduction, in 2001, of a new set of warrant officers. The rank insignia for all personnel are worn on shoulder boards with the appropriate background colour (see below). Recruits of all services do not wear any rank insignia. Once recruit school is finished, privates wear one. Designations are given in German, French and Italian (in this order), with an English translation which is used during overseas missions. In the chart below, NATO codes are used for comparison purposes only: Switzerland is not a member of NATO, and the rank structure in the senior officer region can be seen to diverge significantly from other armies'.

Enlisted ranks

NATO code	OR-2		OR-3	OR-4	OR-6		OR-7			OR-8	OR-9
Insignia
Title	Private	Private	Private First Class	Corporal	Sergeant	Sergeant First Class	Sergeant major	Quartermaster Sergeant	Chief sergeant major	Warrant Officer	Staff Warrant Officer	Master Warrant Officer	Chief Warrant Officer
Abbreviation	Pte	Pte	PFC	Cpl	Sgt	SFC	SGM / Sgt Maj	QMS	CSM	WO	SWO	MWO	CWO

• Private E-1 (Pte) – Soldat (Sdt); Soldat (sdt); Soldato (sdt).
• Private E-2 (Pte) – Gefreiter (Gfr); Appointé (app); Appuntato (app).

• Private First Class (PFC) – Obergefreiter (Obgfr); Appointé-chef (app chef); Appuntato capo (app capo): the rank was introduced after a long debate on 1 January 2004. They are specialists, who take over tasks of responsibility or hold the position of a group commander. If the Obergefreiter has a commanding role, they count among the NCOs, otherwise they are enlisted personnel. A soldier may be promoted to Obergefreiter after attending the NCO course at the Swiss Army's Recruit School, during which time they are also called Anwärter. Upon very good conduct, a Gefreiter may also be promoted to Obergefreiter at a "repetition course". This promotion is not linked to extended duty (service time).
• Corporal (Cpl) – Korporal (Kpl); Caporal (cpl); Caporale (cpl).
• Sergeant (Sgt) – Wachtmeister (Wm); Sergent (sgt); Sergente (sgt).
• Sergeant First Class (SFC) – Oberwachtmeister (Obwm); Sergent chef (sgt chef); Sergente capo (sgt capo).
• Sergeant major (SGM/Sgt Maj) – Feldweibel (Fw); Sergent-major (sgtm); Sergente maggiore (sgtm): the lowest rank of "Higher Non-Commissioned Officers". The Feldweibel oversees unit-level military service and operations.
• Quartermaster Sergeant (QMS) – Fourier (Four); Fourrier (four); Furiere (four): the WO who administers a company's finances and subsistence.
• Chief sergeant major (CSM) – Hauptfeldweibel (Hptfw); Sergent-major chef (sgtm chef); Sergente maggiore capo (sgtm capo).
• Warrant Officer (WO) – Adjutant (Adj); Adjudant (adj); Aiutante (aiut).
• Staff Warrant Officer (SWO) – Stabsadjutant (Stabsadj); Adjudant d'état-major (adj EM); Aiutante di stato maggiore (aiut SM).
• Master Warrant Officer (MWO) – Hauptadjutant (Hptadj); Adjudant-major (adjm); Aiutante maggiore (aiut magg).
• Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) – Chefadjutant (Chefadj); Adjudant-chef (adj chef); Aiutante capo (aiut capo).

Officers

NATO code	OF-1		OF-2	OF-2/3	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9
Insignia
Title	Second Lieutenant	First Lieutenant	Captain	Specialist Officer	Major	Lieutenant Colonel	Colonel	Brigadier General	Major General	Lieutenant General	General
Abbreviation	2 Lt	1 Lt/LFC	Capt	-	Maj	LTC / Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen

• Second Lieutenant (2 Lt) – Leutnant (Lt); Lieutenant (lt); Tenente (ten).
• First Lieutenant (1 Lt/LFC) – Oberleutnant (Oblt); Premier-lieutenant (plt); Primo tenente (1 ten).
• Captain (Capt) – Hauptmann (Hptm); Capitaine (cap); Capitano (cap).
• Specialist Officer – Fachoffizier; Officier spécialiste (of spéc); Ufficiale specialista.
• Major (Maj) – Major (Maj); Major (maj); Maggiore (magg).
• Lieutenant Colonel (LTC/Lt Col) – Oberstleutnant (Oberstlt); Lieutenant-colonel (lt col); Tenete colonnello (ten col).
• Colonel (Col) – Oberst (Oberst); Colonel (col); Colonnello (col).
• Brigadier General (Brig Gen) – Brigadier (Br); Brigadier (br); Brigadiere (br).
• Major General (Maj Gen) – Divisionär (Div); Divisionnaire (div); Divisionario (div).
• Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) – Korpskommandant (KKdt); Commandant de corps (cdt C); Comandante di corpo (cdt C).
• General (Gen) – General (Gen); Général (gén); Generale (gen): the rank is only assigned during time of war. If needed, the general is elected by the Federal Assembly and is the commander of the whole army and air force; however, he is subordinate to the Federal Council. Generals were appointed during the Franco-Prussian War (Hans Herzog), First World War (Ulrich Wille) and Second World War (Henri Guisan).

Shoulder board colour

External links

• Description of ranks with illustrations and quadrilingual designations
• "Rank insignia" (pdf). Insignia of the Swiss Armed Forces. p. 31. http://www.vtg.admin.ch/internet/vtg/de/home/militaerdienst/allgemeines/gradi.parsys.0003.downloadList.89953.DownloadFile.tmp/51009iiidfiereglabzeichenweb.pdf. Retrieved 12 July 2009. 

• Media related to Military rank insignia of Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons

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