Rank insignia of the Bundeswehr
military insignia
The rank insignia of the Federal Defence Forces (Bundeswehr) indicate rank and branch of service in the German Army (Heer), German Air Force (Luftwaffe), or the German Navy (Marine).
They are regulated by the "presidential order on rank designation and military uniform".
The 'ZDv-37/10 – Anzugsordnung für Soldaten der Bundeswehr' (ZDv: Zentrale Dienstvorschrift - Central Service Provision) gives the dress order and design variations. Further, the Federal Office of Equipment, IT, and In-Service Support of the Bundeswehr (Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr) provides numerous details.
History
In 2020, the German ministry of defence considered introducing feminine forms of rank titles, but ultimately did not introduce the changes.
In October 2021, the ranks Korporal and Stabskorporal were introduced by the Bundeswehr as the new most senior ranks for enlisted men, senior to Oberstabsgefreiter. This was done to allow soldiers who perform well and want to take more responsibility to reach a higher pay grade (A6 for Korporal, that is the same pay grade as the NCO rank Stabsunteroffizier (OR-5)) and thus make the career in the enlisted ranks more attractive.
Types
According to the rank system, the different types of rank insignias might be distinguished as follows:
Shoulder straps or boards
Cuff titles or sleeve insignias
Mounting loops or straps (in German: Aufziehschlaufen)
Basic structure of shoulder straps and sleeve insignias
The rank insignias of all service personnel will be explained initially on the example of shoulder straps to the basic uniform or everyday uniform in order provide a general overview.
As to naval persons in uniform there will be additionally depicted sleeve insignias on the uniform jacket. Pertaining army persons in uniform there will be shown next shoulder straps of the uniform jacket.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rank insignia of the Bundeswehr” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.