Sub-Officer, or the equivalent in other languages, is a term used in many armed forces used to indicate ranks below commissioned officers. Sub-officer is equivalent to the term

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 mos ...

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 the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Historically armed forces using the term sub-officer have used it to refer to more senior non-commissioned ranks, typically from sergeant upwards, but the term often covers all ranks that other forces designate non-commissioned. In navies the term is comparable to

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...

. There is a specific rank of "sub-officer" in some armed forces, in the UK Fire and Rescue Services, and in the Irish Fire Services.

Fire service rank

Ireland

Sub-Station-Officer (usually addressed as "Sub" or "Subbo") is a rank in the Irish Fire Services, below the rank of Station Officer. A Sub-Station-Officer usually performs a command function in support of the Station Officer's role on the fireground, and occasionally may take command role at less-serious incidents and takes command when the Station Officer is absent. The badge of rank is two white or silver bars on the

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales' ...

s (or the collar of the firefighting uniform), the helmet is yellow with two black 12.5mm bands on it.

United Kingdom

Sub-Officer (usually addressed as "Sub") is a rank in the London Fire Brigade and formerly all the British

fire services A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

, between Leading Firefighter and Station Officer. A Sub-Officer was usually in charge of a small one- pump fire station or a watch in a larger station. In some brigades they may be in charge of multi-pump stations. The badge of rank is two white or silver bars on the

s (or the collar of the firefighting uniform), the helmet was yellow with two 12.5mm bands on it. With the transition from a rank based structure to a role based structure, the rank of Sub Officer has disappeared and is now replaced by the role of Watch Manager A. The role of Crew Commander / Crew Manager now wear the markings of two silver bars.http://www.firesafe.org.uk/html/geninfo/ranks.htm UK Firesafe Organisation In 2019 The London Fire Brigade changed back to the rank system which resulted in Watch Commander A being reverted to Sub Officer (with Watch Commander B being reverted to Station Officer). The female equivalent in the days when women in the fire services performed administrative and control room roles only was Senior Leading Firewoman. With the advent of mixed-sex control rooms, the title was changed to Senior Fire Control Operator (SFCOp).

Military rank

Argentina

In Argentina the term sub-officer (''suboficial'') formerly applied only to the more senior non-commissioned ranks. Now these ranks are known as "superior sub-officers" and lower ranks as "junior sub-officers". Each branch of the Argentine Armed Forces use Chief Sub-Officer (''suboficial principal'') and Senior Sub-Officer (''suboficial mayor'') as the second highest and highest non-commissioned ranks respectively. The Navy and Air Force also use other "superior sub-officer" ranks. Argentine Superior Sub-Officer Ranks:

Chile

In all three services of the Chilean Armed Forces, in the

Carabineros de Chile ( en, Carabiniers of Chile) are the Chilean national law enforcement police, who have jurisdiction over the entire national territory of the Republic of Chile. Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and enforce the laws of Chile. T ...

and in the Chilean Gendarmerie, only two sub-officer ranks are used: * ''Suboficial'' (Sub-Officer) * ''Suboficial Mayor'' (Senior Sub-Officer) These sub-officer ranks are the same in all the military and police services.

France

In France a sub-officer is sergeant (or equivalent) and above as well as the rank of student sub-officer. (The equivalents to sergeant are 2nd Master in the French navy, and Maréchal-des-logis in some army units (often abbreviated to "margi"), mostly cavalry and logistics arms, and most gendarmerie units.) Lower non-commissioned ranks, such as

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

and

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

, are not considered sub-officers. Traditionally, French sub-officers are often recruited directly as sub-officers rather than rising from more junior ranks.

References

{{reflist Titles Firefighter ranks pt:Suboficial