Stabshauptmann (short: StHptm) meaning "Staff Captain", is a German Senior Captain rank and the highest

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in ...

in the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

for specialist officers (german: Offiziere des Militärfachlichen Dienstes (OffzMilFD)).

Bundeswehr

Instead of being promoted to the rank of major, specialist officers that were holding the rank of

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

(

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

) for a specific time are promoted to the rank of Stabshauptmann and given the salary of a

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. Sometimes regular officers are promoted to a post that is intended for a Stabshauptmann if there is no free post for a Major. The badge of rank is four silver stars. It is one of the rarest ranks in the German military. One notable case in which the rank is conferred has been the "MilFD officers". These are former

NCOs 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 ...

who have completed a training programme in order to be raised from the ranks, to specialist-officer roles. The duties of such officers are therefore specialised similar to those of

Warrant officer 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 ...

grades 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, ...

. ;See also: ⇒ Article:

Ranks of the German Bundeswehr The ranks of the German Armed Forces, (in German: Bundeswehr), were set up by the President with the '' Anordnung des Bundespräsidenten über die Dienstgradbezeichnungen und die Uniform der Soldaten'' on the basis osection 4 paragraph 3 of the ''S ...

⇒ Article:

Rank insignia of the German Bundeswehr The rank insignia of the federal armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany indicate rank and branch of service in the German Army (), German Air Force (), or the German Navy (). They are regulated by the "presidential order on rank design ...

Rank insignia

On the shoulder straps (Heer, Luftwaffe) there are four silver pips (stars). There is no corresponding rank for officers in

Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

Historical background outside of Bundeswehr

Historically, a rank named "Stabshauptmann" (also: "

Stabskapitän ''Stabskapitän'' (en: Staff captain), in the cavalry also ''Stabsrittmeister'' (en: "Staff riding master" or "Staff cavalry master"), or ''Kapitänleutnant'' (en: Captain lieutenant), was a historic military rank in the Prussian Army. In refer ...

") existed in several German armies in the 18th century. However, while the modern Stabshauptman is a Senior Captain senior to a regular Hauptmann, the historical Stabshauptmann was a Junior captain, ranking below Hauptmann rank. In 18th century armies companies often were "owned" by a noble man, who formally was the company's captain, but did not actually command the unit. Instead, the owner of the company appointed an officer from the company his "Stabshauptmann", who technically served as the Hauptmann's mere staff assistant, but actually led the unit in his place. The reversing in ranking of "Hauptmann" and "Stabshauptmann" in modern times is consequence of the practice in modern German military organisations (

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

) to name the highest rank of a rank group beginning with the prefix "Stabs-", indicating that the holder serves in staff position to officers of the next higher rank group, e.g. during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the highest NCO rank in the German army was

Stabsfeldwebel ''Stabsfeldwebel '' (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the United States Army, and to Warrant Officer C ...

, who served as direct assistant to company-grade officers or in staff function. However, this is no longer represented in the Bundeswehr's post-World War II rank structure since the creation of rank levels senior to the "Stabs-" level of ranks, denoted by the prefix "Oberstabs-" ("Senior Staff-", e.g. Oberstabsfeldwebel). There are no plans to create the rank of "Oberstabshauptmann".

International comparison

German pay grade of Stabshauptmann is A13, same as of Major (Hauptmann: A12). According to

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 ...

's STANAG 2116, the NATO rank code of Stabshauptmann is OF-2, same as for regular Hauptmann and therefore equal to Captain rank in other NATO armies. To express the seniority of Stabshauptmann, "OF-2a" or other modifications of the official NATO rank code are in use unofficially. A similar rank outside the German Bundeswehr is the ''primo capitano'' (First Captain) in the Italian military.