An Artificer is an appointment held by a member of an

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

service who is skilled at working on electronic, electrical, electro-mechanical and/or mechanical devices. The specific term "artificer" for this function is typical of the armed forces of countries that are or have been in the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

and refers to a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer. Artificer is a job title and not a rank. Qualification to hold the position and title of Artificer requires years of training and service in order to gain the experience and rank required. In the British Forces, soldiers in the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

(REME) or Royal Marines with the rank of Sergeant who have also qualified as Class 1 tradesmen are eligible for consideration for the Artificers course. Upon completion of the 18-month Artificers course, soldiers are promoted to Staff Sergeant (one rank above Sergeant in the British Army) and presented with the Artificers badge. They are also awarded a HND/Degree. Artificers are addressed as Tiff or 'The Tiffy', and may oversee the maintenance and repair of a unit's mechanical equipment, help to develop new equipment, or become further qualified on specific equipment. Corps of Artificers served during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

s. The rank of Artificer (abbreviated Art.), was also used in the United States army during the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

. Examples include: * Artificer Sergeant Major, an appointment held by a Warrant Officer Class 1 in the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. A Warrant Officer Artificer may be further trained in additional skills, e.g. from Radio Mechanic to include Radar, Computers and other electronic equipment. * A soldier of the

selected for special electro-mechanical training and rapid promotion to the rank of Staff Sergeant *

Royal Artificers Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, a corps of the British army which in 1813 became the Royal Sappers and Miners, which in 1856 merged into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

Armament Artificer A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...

, an Appointment by suitability qualified NCO technicians in the ordnance corps of the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used i ...

who inspect, service and repair heavy ordnance weapons in artillery, air defence, Cavalry and Naval formations * Royal Navy Artificer, a highly-skilled naval rating who has successfully undergone a five-year formal apprenticeship in skill-of-hand and specialist knowledge training in Her Majesty's ships and training establishments, VIDEO a position which ceased in 2010 as a result of engineering branch restructuring.

References

{{military-stub