''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

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

and of former German-speaking naval forces. The legal basis for the

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

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

Rank

'' Seekadett '' is the entrance rank to the Officer Aspirant (OA – ) career. By the salary class, it is equivalent to the Unteroffizier ohne Portepee ranks Maat (rank) (Navy) and

Unteroffizier () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Austria , also , is the collective name to ...

of Heer or

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

. It is also grouped as OR-5 in

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 ...

, equivalent to

technical sergeant Technical sergeant is the name of three current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and ...

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 ...

or petty officer second class in the US armed forces. In navy context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr/ Frau Seekadett'' also informally / short ''Seekadett''. The name to the rank-equivalent persons in uniform of Heer or

are ''Fahnenjunker''. Pertaining authority of command, promotion, and payment level, ''Seekadett'' compares with ''Fahnenjunker'' as well. The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group is as follows:
Unteroffizier ohne Portepee *OR-5a: Obermaat / Heer and Luftwaffe

Stabsunteroffizier ''Stabsunteroffizier'' is a military rank of the German Bundeswehr. It was preceded by the rank '' Unterfeldwebel'' that was used between 1935 and 1945 in the armed forces of Nazi Germany, the Wehrmacht. The East German National People's Army use ...

*OR-5b: Seekadett / Fahnenjunker *OR-5c: Maat /

Rank insignia

An officer candidate's career is indicated by the enlisted rank with the golden nautical star on the shoulder strap and sleeve in the ''Deutsche Marine'', and a thin silver cord on the shoulder strap in ''Heer'' and ''Luftwaffe''. The rank insignia of '' Seekadett '' consist of sleeve badge and shoulder straps. Sleeve insignia are on upper arms, and form two open opposite faced angles, showing (by points) upwards and downwards. The shoulder straps are bordered by a golden braid that is open to the sleeve seam. Already below the lowest officer designated rank "Seekadett" any military person, assigned to an officer career, has to wear additionally to the particular rank the two capital letters “OA”, indicating to the “Officer Aspirant” career. The "nautical star" symbolises the "OA" career.

Training and career

Officer cadets in the ''Deutsche Marine'' begin their training at the Naval Academy Mürwik () in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish language, Danish and ; ; ) is an independent city, independent town in the far north of the Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After Kiel and Lübeck, it is the third-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg's ...

- Mürwik holding enlisted ranks with the qualifier officer candidate (), abbreviated as OA. After about a year, they are promoted to ''Seekadetten'', equivalent to the

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 ...

(NCO) rank Mate (), and move to the University of the German Federal Armed Forces. About nine months later, they are promoted to ''Fähnrich zur See'' rank, equivalent to the NCO rank Boatswain (). After 30 months of total training they are promoted to the final officer candidate rank, ''Oberfähnrich zur See'', equivalent to the NCO rank ''Hauptbootsmann'', and after about 4 years of total training graduate with a bachelor's degree.

References

{{Authority control Naval ranks of Germany Military ranks of Austria

Rank

Rank insignia

Training and career

See also

References