Field officer

A field officer, field grade officer, or senior officer is an army, marine, or air force commissioned officer senior in rank to a company officer but junior to a general officer.^[1] In most armies this corresponds to the ranks of major, lieutenant colonel and colonel, or their equivalents. Some countries also include brigadier in the definition.

Historically, a regiment or battalion's field officers made up its command element.

Canada

In the Canadian Armed Forces, the equivalent of field officers are senior officers (French: Officiers supérieurs); they include the army and air force ranks of Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel, and the naval ranks of Lieutenant-Commander, Commander, and Captain.

France

In the French Forces, field officers are called officiers supérieurs (Senior Officers). There are three ranks, in ascending order : Commandant, Lieutenant-colonel and Colonel (Capitaine de corvette, Capitaine de frégate and Capitaine de vaisseau in the naval forces).

Germany

In the German forces, officers from Major to Colonel in the Army and Luftwaffe, or from Lieutenant Commander to Captain in the Navy are known as Stabsoffiziere which is translated as Field Officers.

Russia

Field officer (Russian: Штаб-офицер, Shabofitser; derived from German: Stabsoffizier; translation en: Field officer), was the designation of a particular officers rank category (OF-3 to OF-5) of the Russian Imperial Army and Navy until 1917.

Designation	Nevsky 1st infantry regiment						Ivanogorodsky 99th IR
Shoulder bord
rank		Polkovnik Полковник	Podpolkovnik Подполко́вник	Major Майо́р	Kapitan Капитан	Stabs-kapitan Штабс-капитан	Polkovnik	Podpolkovnik	Kapitan	Stabs-kapitan
rank category	Field Officers (Штаб-офицеры; Shtabofitsery)

United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries

The British Army (in which these officers are called officers of field rank), and some others in the Commonwealth (including the Australian Army and New Zealand Army), also include the brigadier in this category: the equivalent in other armies is a general officer (the brigadier general).

United States

Today, a field officer in the United States (here called field grade) Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force is typically a major, lieutenant colonel, or a colonel:

The [U.S.] commissioned officer corps is divided into 10 pay grades (O-1 through O-10). Officers in pay grades O-1 through O-3 are considered company grade officers in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force. These pay grades correspond to the ranks of second lieutenant (O-1), first lieutenant (O-2), and captain (O-3). Officers in the next three pay grades (O-4 through O-6) are considered field grade officers in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force. These pay grades correspond to the ranks of major (O-4), lieutenant colonel (O-5), and colonel (O-6). The divisions of company grade and field grade are not used by the Navy or Coast Guard. In those services the divisions are junior officers and senior officers. Officers in pay grades O-1 through O-4 are considered junior officers ensign, lieutenant junior grade, lieutenant and lieutenant commander. Officers in the next two pay grades (O-5 and O-6) are considered senior officers commander and captain. The highest four pay grades are reserved for general officers in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and flag officers in the Navy and Coast Guard. The ranks associated with each pay grade are as follows: in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, brigadier general (O-7), major general (O-8), lieutenant general (O-9), and general (O-10); in the Navy and Coast Guard, rear admiral-lower half, rear admiral-upper half, vice admiral, and admiral.^[2][3]

References

1. "Field officer - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
2. Archived December 30, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
3. "Department of Defense - Officer Rank Insignia". Defenselink.mil. Retrieved 2011-10-03.