Rear admiral is a
flag officer rank used by
English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called
counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to
commodore and immediately below
vice admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral.
Australia
In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
. It is usually equivalent to the rank of
major general in armies. In the
U.S. Navy and some other navies, there are two
rear admiral ranks.
The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear admiral the most junior admiralty of many navies.
Australia
The
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
maintains a rank of rear admiral; refer to
Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia. The abbreviation is RADM.
Since the mid-1990s, the insignia of a Royal Australian Navy rear admiral is the
Crown of St. Edward above a crossed sword and baton, above two silver stars, above the word "Australia". Like the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
version, the sword is a traditional naval
cutlass. The stars have eight points, unlike the four pointed
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
stars used by the army (which are often referred to as "pips"). Prior to 1995, the RAN shoulder board was identical to the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
shoulder board. The Royal Navy shoulder board changed again in 2001 and the Australian and UK shoulder boards are now identical except for the word "Australia".
Rear Admiral
Robyn Walker became the first female admiral in the Royal Australian Navy when she was appointed Surgeon-General of the
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...
on 16 December 2011.
Canada
In the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
, the rank of rear-admiral (RAdm) (''contre-amiral'' or ''CAm'' in
French) is the
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
rank equivalent to
major-general of the
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
and
Air Force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
. A rear-admiral is a
flag officer, the naval equivalent of a
general officer
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
. A rear-admiral is senior to a
commodore and
brigadier-general, and junior to a
vice-admiral and
lieutenant-general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...
.
The rank insignia for a rear-admiral is two silver maple leaves beneath a silver crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by
St Edward's Crown, worn on gold shoulder boards on the white short-sleeved shirt or the tropical white tunic. The service dress features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff and, since June 2010, above it a narrower strip of gold braid embellished with the executive curl. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.
File:Canada-Navy-OF-7-collected.svg, , alt=Canadian rear admiral shoulder board and sleeve insignia (since June 2010).
Image:Navy slip-on RAdm.png,
Image:Navy olive RAdm.png,
India
Pakistan
A rear admiral in the Pakistani Navy is a senior and two-star rank naval officer, appointed in higher naval commands. Like most
Commonwealth navies, the rear admiral rank is superior to commodore and captain. However, the rank is junior to the three-star rank vice-admiral and four-star rank admiral, who is generally a
Chief of Naval Staff of the Navy.
New Zealand
The highest ordinary rank currently filled in the
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...
is rear admiral and this is the rank held by the
Chief of Navy unless that person is also
Chief of Defence Force.
Singapore
The
Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has two ranks with the title of rear admiral: rear-admiral (one-star), a one-star rank; and rear-admiral (two-star), a two-star rank.
Sri Lanka
Rear admiral is a two-star rank in the
Sri Lanka Navy
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...
.
Sweden
In
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, rear admiral is a two-star admiral rank of the
Swedish Navy.
United Kingdom
The
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
maintains a rank of rear admiral. Note that the rank of rear admiral is quite different from the honorary office
Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom.
United States
In the United States, there have been two ranks with the title of rear admiral since 1985: rear admiral (lower half) (RDML), a one-star rank; and rear admiral (RADM), a two-star rank. Prior to that, a combination of ranks was used.
10 U.S.C. 5501 Notes
/ref> Both the rear admiral (lower half) and rear admiral ranks exist in four of the uniformed services of the United States: the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
, United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
, United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps.
Admiral insignia by country
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
(Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
)
( Bangladesh Navy)
( Belize Coast Guard)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
(Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
)
( Ethiopian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
( Republic of Fiji Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
( Gambian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
( Ghana Navy)
File:Guyana Rear Admiral Insignia.svg, Rear admiral
( Guyana Coast Guard)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
(Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
)
( Irish Naval Service)
( Jamaican Coast Guard)
( Namibian Navy)
(Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...
)
( Nigerian Navy)
( Pakistan Navy)
( Papua New Guinea Maritime Element)
File:PN RADM BlkDr-Slv.svg, Rear admiral
( Philippine Navy)
( Sierra Leone Navy)
File:09-RSN-OF07.svg, Rear admiral
( Republic of Singapore Navy)
( South African Navy)
(Sri Lanka Navy
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...
)
( Tanzania Naval Command)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg, Rear admiral
( Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard)
(Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
)
(United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
)
(United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
)
See also
* Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO navies
References and notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rear Admiral
Military ranks of Canada
Military insignia
Military ranks of Australia
Naval ranks