Lieutenant Commander

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Common Military Ranks
Naval Forces	Land/Air Forces	Commonwealth Air Forces
Admiral	General	Air Marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air Commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group Captain
Commander	Lieutenant Colonel	Wing Commander
Lieutenant Commander	Major	Squadron Leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer
Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer
Petty Officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading Rate	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman

Lieutenant Commander (Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies superior to a Lieutenant and subordinate to a Commander. The corresponding rank in most armies, marine corps and air forces is Major, and in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces is Squadron Leader.

A Lieutenant Commander is a senior department officer on a large ship or shore installation. They may also be commanding officer or executive officer (second-in-command) of a smaller ship or installation.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Royal Navy 3 United States Navy and Coast Guard 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Origins

Lieutenants were commonly put in command of smaller vessels not warranting a Commander or Captain: such a Lieutenant was called a "Lieutenant Commanding" or "Lieutenant Commandant" in the United States Navy, and a "Lieutenant in Command" or "Lieutenant and Commander" in the Royal Navy. The USN settled on "Lieutenant Commander" in 1862, and made it a distinct rank; the RN followed suit in March 1914.

[edit] Royal Navy

The insignia worn by a Royal Navy Lieutenant-Commander (Lt Cdr) is two medium gold braid stripes with one thin gold stripe running in between, placed upon a navy blue/black background. The top stripe has the ubiquitous loop used in all RN officer rank insignia. The RAF follows this pattern with its equivalent rank of Squadron Leader.

Having fewer officer ranks than the army, the RN previously split some of its ranks by seniority (time in rank) to provide equivalence: hence a Lieutenant with fewer than eight years' seniority wore two stripes, and ranked with an army Captain; a Lieutenant of eight years or more wore two stripes with a thinner one in between, and ranked with a Major. This distinction was abolished when the rank of Lieutenant-Commander was introduced, the new rank taking the insignia and army equivalence of a senior Lieutenant.

Similar insignia is worn by Lieutenant-Commanders in other Commonwealth navies, such as the Royal Australian Navy (which uses the abbreviation "LCDR"), the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (formerly the Royal Canadian Navy; which uses the abbreviation "LCdr").

	Officer ranks of the British Armed Forces
	Student Officer	OF(D)	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Royal Navy:		Mid	SLt		Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Adm of the Fleet
Royal Marines:			2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt		2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	FM
Royal Air Force:	OC / SO		APO / Plt Off	Fg Off	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	Air Cdre	AVM	Air Mshl	Air Chf Mshl	MRAF

[edit] United States Navy and Coast Guard

The rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) is used in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard. The pay grade of this rank is O-4.

It is customary for naval officers below the rank of Commander (the Junior Officers) to be addressed by their seniors and subordinates as "Mister." For example, LT Rogers might be addressed as "Mister Rogers." When LT Rogers is promoted to Lieutenant Commander, a senior may still address him/her as "Mister Rogers," but a it is customary for a direct subordinate to address a LCDR Rogers as "Commander Rogers." Other shipmates may still address LCDR Rogers as "Mister Rogers."

While the gold oak leaf collar insignia worn by United States Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps Majors is also worn by USN Lieutenant Commanders, they also wear on various uniforms the two medium and one narrow sleeve and shoulder braid stripe insignia like their counterparts in the Royal Navy, though with a specialty insignia instead of a loop. In this illustration, the inverted star of a line officer is used.

In both the US Navy and US Coast Guard, the three classes of commissioned officers: flag, senior, and junior differ slightly from their Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force counterparts of General, Field Grade, and Company Grade. In the Navy and Coast Guard, the Lieutenant Commander is the most senior of the Junior Officers.

While a Lieutenant Commander is paid the same as a Major with the same years of service, he or she does not rate the same privileges. In the land and air forces, a Major rates better billeting, housing, or berthing than a Captain (O-3). The Major's accommodations and privileges are of the same class as a Lieutenant Colonel's and Colonel's. A Lieutenant Commander's is not the same as that of a Commander's or Captain's. The most visible sign is the lack of gold leaves on the brim of the combination cover (or peaked hat). In both the Coast Guard and Navy, the peak is plain patent leather. In the land and air forces, a Major's peak has gold leaves upon it.

In US Naval Aviation, this difference shows up occasionally in two areas, onboard aircraft carriers and in flight training. On US Navy aircraft carriers, Marine Corps Majors with embarked aviation units are assigned senior officer single occupancy staterooms when they are available. Lieutenant Commanders will be assigned to either two or four man staterooms, but rarely to the 8 man "JO Jungles." In flight training, Air Force and Marine Majors on Navy bases rate senior officer housing.

U.S. commissioned officer ranks
	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (wartime only)	Special Grade
Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
Army:	CDT/OC	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army	General of the Armies
Air Force:	Cadet	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)

[edit] See also

• Military unit
• Comparative military ranks
• U.S. Navy officer rank insignia
• Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia

[edit] References