''Stabsfeldwebel '' (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest

Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

(NCO) rank in

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

and

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as ...

. It is grouped as OR-8 in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

, and to

Warrant Officer Class 2 Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

. Promotion to the rank requires at least twelve years total active duty, of which at least eleven years have elapsed since promotion to '' unteroffizier'', with at least ten years since promotion to ''

stabsunteroffizier ''Stabsunteroffizier'' is a military rank of the German Bundeswehr. It was preceded by the rank ''Unterfeldwebel'' that was used between 1935 and 1945 in the armed forces of Nazi Germany, the Wehrmacht. The East German National People's Army used t ...

'', and nine years since promotion to ''

feldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

''. In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr Stabsfeldwebel'' also informally / short ''Staber''.

History

Austria-Hungary

The ranks ''Stabsfeldwebel'', ''Stabsoberjäger'', ''Stabsfeuerwerker'' and ''Stabswachtmeister'' were introduced to the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

in 1913.

Germany

The rank was introduced in 1938 by the

, and was equivalent to the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

s ''Stabsoberfeldwebel'' grades (''Stabsoberbootsmann'', ''Stabsobersteuermann'' and ''Stabsobersteuwermann''). The rank was only named ''Stabsfeldwebel'' within the infantry, as other services had other traditions and names. In the cavalry and artillery the rank was called ''

Stabswachtmeister Stabswachtmeister (short: StWm) is in the Austrian Bundesheer a NCO-rank. As lowest grade of the Staff-NCO rank group he is normally dedicated to command a platoon or to serve in a military staff appointment (assignment group M BUO 1 / professio ...

'', and in the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

it was called SS-''

Sturmscharführer __NOTOC__ (, ) was a Nazi rank of the Waffen-SS that existed between 1934 and 1945. The rank was the most senior enlisted rank in the Waffen-SS, the equivalent of a regimental sergeant major, in other military organizations. Rank usage ''Stur ...

''. The rank was also used in the GDR

Land Forces of the National People's Army The Land Forces of the National People's Army (german: Landstreitkräfte der Nationalen Volksarmee – LaSK), was the ground-based military branch of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) National People's Army (NPA). The Land Forces Command, lo ...

and was equivalent to '' Stabsobermeister'' in the '' Volksmarine''.

Rank sequence

The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group ('' Senior NCOs with portepee'') is as follows: *OR-9: / *OR-8: / *OR-7: / *OR-6: / *OR-6: /

References

Sources

*BROCKHAUS, Die Enzyklopädie in 24 Bänden (1796–2001), Band 5: 3-7653-3665-3, p. 487, Definition: ''Stabsfeldwebel'' *BROCKHAUS, Die Enzyklopädie in 24 Bänden (1796–2001), Band 7: 3-7653-3676-9, p. 185, ''Stabsfeldwebel'' {{German military ranks Military ranks of Germany Military ranks of Austria