Second Lieutenant is the lowest
commissioned officer military rank in many
armed forces.
In
British English the rank is
pronounced second /lɛf'tɛnənt/ (lef-tenent), while in
American English it is pronounced second
/lu'tɛnənt/ (loo-tenent).
United Kingdom and Commonwealth
The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the
British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of
ensign (
cornet in the cavalry), although it
had long been used in the
Royal
Artillery,
Royal Engineers,
Fusilier and
Rifle regiments.
At first the rank bore no distinct insignia. In 1902 a single bath
star (now
commonly referred to as a
pip) was introduced; the ranks
of
lieutenant and
captain had their
number of stars increased by one to (respectively) two and three.
The rank is also used by the
Royal
Marines.
In the
Royal Air Force the
comparable rank is
pilot officer. The
Royal Navy has no exactly equivalent
rank, and a second lieutenant is senior to a Royal Navy
midshipman but junior to a
Sub-Lieutenant. The
Royal New Zealand Navy – breaking
with Royal Navy tradition – uses the
ensign grade for this rank equivalent. The
Royal Australian Navy also
breaks tradition in the sense that it has the equivalent rank of
Ensign, but it is titled "acting sub lieutenant."
The
Canadian Forces adopted the rank
with insignia of a single gold ring around the service dress
uniform cuff for both army and air personnel upon unification in
1968. For a time, naval personnel used this rank but reverted to
the Royal Canadian Navy rank of
acting sub-lieutenant, though the CF
Green uniform was retained until the mid-1980s.
United States
Insignia of a United States Second Lieutenant
In the
United
States
, second lieutenant is typically the entry-level
rank for most commissioned
officers.
In the
U.S. Army and the
U.S. Marine Corps, a second lieutenant
typically leads a
platoon-size element (16
to 44 soldiers or marines). In the Army, the rank bore no
insignia until
December 1917, when a gold bar was introduced to contrast with the
silver bar of a
first
lieutenant.
In the
U.S. Air Force, a second lieutenant may
supervise
flights of varying
sizes, depending upon the career field, as a flight commander or
assistant flight commander or may work in a variety of
administrative positions at the
squadron,
group, or
wing level.
As a result of the gold color of the bars, second lieutenants are
often
colloquially referred to as
Butterbars,
Nuggets,
Commissioned Privates, or
2nd
Luey.
The corresponding
United
States Coast Guard and
United
States Navy rank is
ensign.
In the
Army Medical Corps, this
is the entry-level rank for nurses.
Norway
Image:UK-Navy-OF1.gif| An RNoN Fenrik Arm, shoulder or chest
insignia (depending on uniform)Image:NOR-Army-OF1b.gif| A Norwegian
Army and Heimevernet (Home Guard) Fenrik shoulder insignia.The
equivalent rank in Norway(O-1) is "fenrik", but the function of the
rank differs drastically from other armies. Although it is an
officer rank, it strongly resembles an NCO-rank in practice. The
ranking system in Norway is quite different, while they don't have
a professional army, Fenriks are usually former experienced
sergeants but to become a sergeant one has to go through officer's
training and education. Though they still fill such roles as squad
leaders and platoon sergeants while at the rank Fenrik, in some
cases Fenriks are XOs. Most Fenriks have finished the War Academy
as well, and are fully trained officers. This is due to the lack of
an NCO-corps in the Norwegian army.
Other countries
- : Dvahom Baridman
- : Nëntoger
- Arabic-speaking
countries except Bahrain
, Oman
, Sudan
, Yemen
: ملازم
(Mulazim)
- , , and : Teniente
- : լեյտենանտ (Leytenant)
- and : Leytenant
- , , and : ملازم ثان (Mulazim Thani)
- : Sous-Lieutenant (French); Onderluitenant
(Dutch)
- : Deda Wom
- , , , , , , and : Subteniente
- : Podporučnik
- and : Segundo Tenente
- : Ak-no-say-ney-trey
- and : Tenente
- : 少尉 (Shào wèi)
- Imperial China
: 協軍校 (Xié jūn xiào)
- : Poručnik
- , and : Podporučík
- : Løjtnant
- : Segundo Teniente
- : Nooremleitnant
- : Vänrikki (Finnish) or Fänrik (Swedish)
(army and air force); Aliluutnantti (Finnish) or
Underlöjtnant (Swedish) (navy)
- and all French-speaking
non-European countries: Sous-Lieutenant
- : ლეიტენანტი (Leytenanti)
- and : Leutnant
- and : Anthypolokhagos
(army); Anthyposminagos (air force)
- : Hadnagy
- : Segundo Teniente
- : Letnan Dua
- : ستوان دوم (Setvan Dovom)
- Second Lieutenant (English); Dara-Lefteanant
(Irish)
- : סגן משנה (Segen mishne)
- : Sottotenente
- : Santō Rikui (or San'i) (modern);
Shōi (historical)
- and : 소위 (Sowi)
- : Roitrïäkäd
- : Leitnants
- : Leitenantas
- : Lieutenant
- : Leftenan Muda
- : Du Bo
- : Sahayak-Senani
- and : Tweede-Luitenant
- : Fenrik
- Ottoman Empire:
Mülazım
- Philippines:
Second Lieutenant (English); Magat, Tenyente,
Ikalawang Tenyente, Alperes (cognate of
Alferez)
- : Podporucznik
- and
Mozambique
: Alferes
- : Sublocotenent (modern); Locotenent
(former)
- , , , , and : Лейтенант (Leytenant)
- : Подпоручик (Podporuchik); Kорнет (Kornet)
(cavalry)
- : ملازم
- , and : Потпоручник (Potporučnik)
- : Poročnik
- and : Alférez
- : Fänrik
- : Leutnant (German); Lieutenant (French);
Tenente (Italian)
- (Taiwan): 少尉 (Shào wèi)
- : ร้่อยตรี
- : Teğmen
- : Teniente Segundo
- : Subteniente (army); Subteniente (air force); Alférez (Navy)
- : Thiếu Uý
See also
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