''Stabsunteroffizier'' is a military rank of the German

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 ...

. It was preceded by the rank ''

Unterfeldwebel () was a rank of the Wehrmacht, from 1935 until 1945. It was also used in the East German National People's Army from 1956 to 1990. The equivalent to ''Unterfeldwebel'' in the Bundeswehr of West Germany and later the Federal Republic of Germa ...

'' that was used between 1935 and 1945 in the armed forces of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, the

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 ...

. The

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) a ...

used the rank ''Unterfeldwebel'' from 1956 to 1990. In the

Austrian Armed Forces The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...

''Stabsunteroffizier'' is the collective name to all higher

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 ...

Bundeswehr

''Stabsunteroffizier'' (short StUffz or SU) is a military rank of the ''Deutsche Bundeswehr'' to persons in uniform of the Heer and

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

. Legal basis is the ''Presidential order of the Federal president (de: Bundespräsident) on rank insignia and uniforms of soldiers''The Federal president (publisher): Order of the Federal president (de: Bundespräsident) on rank insignia and uniform of soldiers (short title: BPräsUnifAnO), ishued July 14, 1978.

Rank

''Stabsunteroffizier'' is the highest NCO-grade of the rank group

Unteroffizier ohne Portepee (), is the designation for German junior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in the German Armed Forces. The category was a division of the NCO class, separating junior NCOs from ''Unteroffiziere mit Portepee'', or senior NCOs (who wore the swo ...

. According to the salary class (A 6-7) it is equivalent to the Obermaat of

Deutsche Marine The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mar ...

. It is also grouped as OR-5 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

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, superv ...

in the US Armed forces. In army context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr/ Frau Stabsunteroffizier'' also informally / short ''StUffz''. The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group is as follows:

*OR-5a: ''Stabsunteroffizier'' / (Marine) Obermaat *OR-5b:

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establi ...

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the B ...

*OR-5c: Unteroffizier /

Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: mꜣꜥt /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and r ...

The abbreviation "OR" stands for ''"Other Ranks"''.

Austria

''Stabsunteroffizier(e)'', also ''Stabsunteroffizier corps'' (en: Staff non-commissioned officer), is the collective name to all senior NCO-ranks in the modern day´s ''Austrian Bundesheer''. It comprises the ranks of the assignment group M ZUO 1 (longer-serving NCO 1; de: Unteroffiziere auf Zeit 1) with the ranks

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 ...

, Oberstabswachtmeister, and Offiziersstellvertreter. The assignment group M BUO 1 (professional NCOs 1; de: Berufsunteroffiziere 1) comprises additionally the highest NCO-rank Vizeleutnant. Training and education of the ''Stabsunteroffizier corps'' was reformed in 1995 and until 2000 finally introduced to the armed forces. First effected were professional NCOs of the assignment group M BUO 1. The number of trainees was limited to 150 persons in uniform, with a service time of at least four years, with the rank Wachtmeister upward and very good level at English language. In the result of a positive entrance examination aspirants attended the Staff-NCO trainings course (new) on the Heeresunteroffiziersakademie (HUAk) in Enns. The one year study is divided in two semesters. The first semester (six (6) month duration) is provided by the ''HUAk'', and the second semester (six (6) month duration) has to be offered by the appropriate service branch (de: ''Waffengattung'') or technical college (de: ''Fachschule''). After positive HUAk-graduation regular assignments to a ''Stabsunteroffizier'' might be

platoon commander {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader ( NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or ...

(de: ''Zugführer''), or service in a military staff or

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stabsunteroffizier Military ranks of Germany Military ranks of Austria