Colonel Commandant

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Colonel Commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honorary role outside the executive military structures, such as advocacy for the troops.

1 United Kingdom
2 Canada
3 Australia
4 India
5 United States
6 References
7 External links

[edit] United Kingdom

Colonel-Commandant was used as an appointment in the British Army for a short time (1922 to 1928), replacing Brigadier-General. It was not well received and the title "Brigadier" was used thereafter. Its use was limited to officers commanding brigades, depots or training establishments; officers holding equivalent rank in administrative appointments were known as "Colonels on the Staff", also replaced by Brigadier in 1928. Colonel-Commandant and Brigadier were not, until after World War II, substantive ranks - they were appointments that related to a role. Colonel-Commandants and Colonels on the Staff wore a crown over three stars, the rank badge later adopted by Brigadiers.^[1]

In the Royal Marines, the ranks or appointments of Colonel Commandant and Colonel 2nd Commandant dated back to 1755, when fifty companies of marines were raised in three divisions: each division had a Colonel Commandant and Colonel 2nd Commandant. These ranked below Major-General and above Colonel. The Royal Marines did not use the rank of Brigadier-General until 1913,^[2] and dispensed with it again, along with the Army, in 1922. The two grades of Colonel Commandant persisted at least as far as World War II.^[3] By 1957, however, they had been abolished, and the Marines had adopted the Army's appointment of Brigadier^[4]

The title of Colonel-Commandant is now used as an honorary or ceremonial title (equivalent to a Brigadier) relating to a military corps or regiment. For example, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has been Colonel-Commandant of the Army Air Corps as well as the full-time role as Chief of the General Staff ^[5] and Brigadier Jane Arigho, a retired Director of Army Nursing Services, is the Colonel-Commandant of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps ^[6].

[edit] Canada

The Canadian Forces widely uses Colonels Commandant as honorary appointments to act as advocates for members and to advise on relevant policy matters. In Reserve Regiments there has usually been an Honorary Colonel and an Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel, while in the Regular Force, the title used is Colonel Commandant or Colonel of the Regiment. Many units also have a Colonel-in-Chief who is often a member of the Royal Family, frequently with a name connection to the Regiment. Example: The Queen's York Rangers (First American Regiment) having the Queen and later the Duke of York, as Colonel-in-Chief. In the Artillery, the Monarch holds this role with the appellation "Captain-General". All of these "honoraries" are in head-of-family roles, approachable in varying degrees by anyone in the "regimental family".

The Colonel Commandant of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC), is an appointment given by the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada to a distinguished retired armoured forces officer. The appointment is for three years, during which the incumbent is on the Canadian Forces' reserve list as the senior officer of the Corps. He is responsible for advising the army commander on matters pertaining to the RCAC. A colonel commandant travels widely to canvass the views of all ranks in the Corps and frequently attends military policy conferences, ceremonies and unit celebrations. He is an ex-officio member of the RCAC Association's executive committee. ^[7]

In 2001, the Canadian Forces Medical Branch (CFMB) canvassed past and present members for nominations to the role of Colonel Commandant. The role is ceremonial but the colonel commandant acts as a link between the CFMB and the wider civilian medical community. The position is not restricted to former senior medical officers; consideration is given to medical practitioners who are "particularly prominent and well respected within the world of civilian medicine." ^[8]

[edit] Australia

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Until 1882, William Acland Douglas, who served in the 50th Regiment, was colonel-commandant of the military forces in Victoria.

Australian formations, suc as the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police and the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) have Colonel Commandants, a retired soldier whose role is to act as advocate for the troops' interests. This requires visits to wherever the corps or regiment is deployed. ^[9]

[edit] India

Indian Universities have had appointed an Honorary Colonel Commandant by the National Cadet Corps (NCC). The role is not necessarily filled by someone of military experience. ^[10]