Podchorąży is the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
military title of officer cadets of various ranks.
The term literally means "under-ensign" (or could be rendered as sub-flagbearer, second flagbearer, or deputy flagbearer) and historically has referred to an
officer cadet
Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps.
Th ...
who served as an aide to a senior officer.
In the modern
Polish Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...
, ''podchorąży'' is a rank equivalent to
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
ranks
OF-1a and
OF-1b, corresponding respectively to second lieutenant and lieutenant. However, in officer-training programs it may apply to a
cadet
A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...
who has not yet been commissioned an
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
.
Poland has several officer-cadet programs, including the
General Tadeusz Kościuszko Military University of Land Forces (in
Wrocław
Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...
), the
Military University of Technology (in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
), and the
Polish Naval Academy (in
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...
).
The rank of ''podchorąży'' is typically obtained upon completion of the initial officer-training program and commissioning as a
second lieutenant. However, in some cases it applies to cadets who are still in training and have not yet been commissioned.
''Podchorąży'' should not be confused with "''chorąży''", which is a higher rank equivalent to NATO ranks
OF-1c and
OF-2
A NATO standard grade scale is used by the NATO and its partners for the purpose of comparing military ranks across the member nations militaries, as well as for a number of administrative tasks.
Rank codes
NATO maintains a "standard rank sc ...
, corresponding respectively to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
and
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 ...
. The rank of "chorąży" is typically obtained after several years' service as a
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 ...
and is therefore not applied to cadets or
officer candidate
Officer candidate or officer aspirant (OA) is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an Officer (armed forces), officer. More often than not, an officer candidate was a civilia ...
s.
See also
*
Comparative military ranks
This article is a list of various nations' armed forces ranking designations. Comparisons are made between the different systems used by nations to categorize the hierarchy of an armed force compared to another. Several of these lists mention '' ...
References
Military ranks of Poland
{{Poland-stub