Second Lieutenant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Second Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned rank in many armed forces.

In the United States Army, the rank bore no insignia until 1917 when a gold bar was introduced to contrast with the silver bar of a First Lieutenant. The rank is also used in the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps. As a result of the gold color of the bars, second lieutenants are often referred to colloquially as "Butterbars." The corresponding United States Navy rank is Ensign.

The rank was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of Ensign (Cornet in the cavalry), although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and Fusilier regiments. At first the rank bore no distinct insignia. In 1902 a single star (sometimes referred to as a pip) was introduced; the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain had their number of stars increased by one to (respectively) two and three. The rank is also used by the Royal Marines.

In the Royal Air Force the comparable rank is Pilot Officer. The Royal Navy has no exactly equivalent rank, and a Second Lieutenant is senior to a Royal Navy Midshipman but junior to a Sub-Lieutenant. The Royal New Zealand Navy - breaking with Royal Navy tradition - uses the Ensign grade for this rank equivalent.

In Germany the rank is Leutnant.

	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10
U.S. OFFICER RANKS WARNING: THIS TEMPLATE CONTAINS POSSIBLE INACCURACIES, SOMEONE PLEASE HELP FIX This template based off of UK officer template. The Army capitalizes their abbreviations. I think the Navy does also but could someone please check? Also not sure on the abbreviations of Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade, Rear Admirals, and Navy/Marine Midshipman abrreviations. Also consider reordering so that Army is at the top since they are the "senior service". Add US Flag image.
Navy:	Midn	Ens	Lt jg (?)	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	RAdm (lower)	RAdm (upper)	VAdm	Adm	Fleet Admiral
Marine Corps:	Midn	2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	(no equivalent)
Army:	CDT	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army
Air Force:	C/	2d Lt	1t Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force

	Student Officer	OF(D)	OF-1	OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
British comissioned officer rankss
Royal Navy:	OCdt	Mid	SLt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Admiral of the Fleet
Royal Marines:	OCdt		2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt	OD	2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	FM
Royal Air Force:	OCdt	OD	PO - FO	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF

Second Lieutenant

See also