Military ranks and rank insignia of Norway were changed June 1, 2016, with the reintroduction of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps, and the abolishment of the one-tier officer system in place since 1975.

New system of 2023

The

Storting The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The Unicameralism, unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list propo ...

adopted in 2015 the new scheme for military personnel, . From 2016, the Norwegian Defence Forces have two career ladders for the military personnel; one officer scheme for personnel with a degree from the military academy, or a university degree and qualification courses, and a non-commissioned officer scheme for personnel with non-commissioned officer school. In 2023 the ranks of , , and were removed and the navy adopted new enlisted rank insignia.

Commissioned officers

The rank insignia of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

Student officer ranks

Other ranks

The rank insignia of

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

s and

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...

Chief NCOs

Historic ranks

System 1916–1930

Officers

Enlisted

System ?–1975

20150806 08-1739 Uniforms-Norway 1962 ENG-FRE HR

Officers

Enlisted

System 1975–2016

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

did not have a

system and thus

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

and

Petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...

are grouped with the officers under the common designation . The officers are divided into three groups: The (company officers, ranks

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

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

inclusive), the staff officers (, ranks Major to brigadier inclusive), and the generals (Major General to General inclusive). (

) used to be referred to as Second Lieutenant (), while the rank of lieutenant went by First Lieutenant. The rank of Brigadier is not an old tradition in the Norwegian armed forces and was instated as a replacement for (First Colonel); what is now used to be (Second Colonel). As shown, the

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

have two ranks which differ from the

regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

: Dragon (

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

) instead of (

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

), and (

Rittmeister Rittmaster () is usually a commissioned officer military rank used in a few armies, usually equivalent to Captain. Historically it has been used in Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A is typically in charge of a s ...

) instead of (

). The ranks of and were bestowed upon soldiers who have finished the 12 months compulsory service and had signed one or more three-year contracts to continue serving. The ranks of (

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

/Leading Rate) were usually ascribed to soldiers with long and/or outstanding service, though may be bestowed on soldiers with extra responsibilities (e.g. the shift-commander among a group of soldiers on guard-duty). A (Rate Corporal/Petty Officer-in-training) was a soldier who has finished the UB course , a course intended to prepare conscripted soldiers for non-commissioned officer duties, but still under training in "the field". After one-year course and service these soldiers were qualified for the rank of or .

New system of 2023

Commissioned officers

Student officer ranks

Other ranks

Chief NCOs

Historic ranks

System 1916–1930

Officers

Enlisted

System ?–1975

Officers

Enlisted

System 1975–2016

Officers

Enlisted

System 2016–2023

References

Works cited