Staff sergeant majorNote that in the British Army, the plural is "staff sergeant majors" and not "staff sergeants major". The earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' is in 1822. The last of the (very occasional) usages of "sergeants major", except when referring to American NCOs, is in 1938. is an appointment in some

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

armies and also a rank in the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

Canada

Staff sergeant major is a

(RCMP) rank above

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

but junior to

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

Israel

Staff Sergeant Major is an

Israel Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...

and

Israel Border Police The Israel Border Police () is the gendarmerie and border security branch of the Israel National Police. It is also commonly known by its Hebrew abbreviation Magav (), meaning border guard; its members are colloquially known as ''magavnikim ...

(Magav) rank junior to Advanced Staff Sergeant Major.

United Kingdom

Staff sergeant major (SSM) is an appointment in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

held by warrant officers class 1 in the

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

who are not conductors or

regimental sergeant major Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by a warrant officer (WO) in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations. It is also an actual rank in the Iri ...

s. Staff sergeant majors existed in the Army Service Corps and

Ordnance Store Branch The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

in the 19th century. In 1896, however, staff sergeant majors in the new Army Ordnance Corps were renamed sub-conductors (becoming staff sergeant majors again in 1967). Staff sergeant majors remained in the Army Service Corps, later the Royal Army Service Corps, and continued when it became the

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider defence forces. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and tr ...

in 1965. The appointment passed to the new Royal Logistic Corps in 1993. In 1892, conductors of supplies in the Army Service Corps were renamed staff sergeant majors 1st class. Like the conductors, they wore their royal arms rank badge in a wreath. The appointment has now been abolished.

Footnotes

Military appointments of the British Army Warrant officers {{UK-mil-stub