Antisyntagmatarchis

Antisyntagmatarchis ( el, Αντισυνταγματάρχης, abbreviated Ανχης) is used in the

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

to mean "

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

". A typical responsibility of an Antisyntagmatarchis is to exercise command of a

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

. Officers holding this rank should be addressed as ''"Kyrie Diikita"'' (''Κύριε διοικητά'') (stressed on the last syllable), by their subordinates when they exercise battalion command or ''"Kyrie Antisyntagmatarcha"'' (''Κύριε Αντισυνταγματάρχα'') (stressed on the syllable before last) in other cases. The term was first used in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

(1821 - 1827). The earliest known written use occurred in revolutionary government papers of 1822. In the modern

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

the rank is superior to a

Tagmatarchis , in more archaic context transliterated as (, abbreviated as ), anglicized as Tagmatarch, is used in the Greek language to mean "Major". More precisely, it means "commander of a " (). The rank dates to Antiquity and was also used in the Byzantin ...

(

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

) and inferior to a

Syntagmatarchis (; abbreviated ), sometimes anglicised as Syntagmatarch, is used in modern Greek to denote the rank of Colonel. It is translated as "leader of a regiment (''syntagma'')", and dates back to the Classical Age armies. However, the name is misleading ...

(

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

). The insignia consists of a flame and two golden stars. Most commissioned officers retire in this rank. Promotions to Syntagmatarchis and above are open to a few but this is most often based on the personal charisma and political contacts of the candidate rather than seniority. Hellenic Army officers Military ranks of Greece {{Greece-stub