''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Presidential order of the Federal president on rank insignia and uniforms of soldiers''.The Federal president (publisher): Order of the Federal president (de: Bundespräsident) on rank insignia and uniform of soldiers (short title: BPräsUnifAnO), issued July 14, 1978.

Rank

''Fahnenjunker'' is the entrance rank to an officer aspirant career. According to the salary class, it is equivalent to the

Unteroffizier ohne Portepee (), is the designation for German junior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) in the German Armed Forces. The category was a division of the NCO class, separating junior NCOs from ''Unteroffiziere mit Portepee'', or senior NCOs (who wore the swo ...

ranks

Unteroffizier () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Austria , also , is the collective name t ...

of the army or air force, and

Maat Maat or Maʽat ( Egyptian: mꜣꜥt /ˈmuʀʕat/, Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ) refers to the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. Ma'at was also the goddess who personified these concepts, and regul ...

of the

Deutsche Marine The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

. It is also grouped as OR-5 in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

, equivalent to

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

in the US Armed forces. In the army context, NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr/ Frau Fahnenjunker'' also informally / short ''Fahnenjunker''. The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group is as follows:

*OR-5a:

Stabsunteroffizier ''Stabsunteroffizier'' is a military rank of the German Bundeswehr. It was preceded by the rank ''Unterfeldwebel'' that was used between 1935 and 1945 in the armed forces of Nazi Germany, the Wehrmacht. The East German National People's Army used t ...

/ (Marine)

Obermaat '' Obermaat '' is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and earlier other German-speaking armed forces. Bundeswehr '' Obermaat '' (OMaat or in lists OMT) is a rank of the German Navy. It belongs to the particular rank group NCO's without portepee ...

*OR-5b: Fahnenjunker /

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the B ...

*OR-5c:

Rank insignia

Bundeswehr

An officer candidate's career is indicated by the enlisted rank with a thin silver cord on the shoulder strap in the army and the air force, and with the golden nautical star on the shoulder strap and sleeve in the ''Deutsche Marine''. The rank insignia of ''Fahnenjunker'' consists of shoulder straps, bordered by a golden braid that is open to the sleeve seam. ''Fahnenjunker'' of the air force wear an additional Air Force wing on the open end of the braid. The rank insignia on field and battle dress are in black colour. Below the lowest officer designated rank of "Fahnenjunker," any military person who is assigned to be a career officer has to wear the two capital letters “OA” in addition to the particular rank, indicating the “Officer Aspirant” career.

Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahnenjunker Military ranks of Germany

Rank

Rank insignia

Bundeswehr

Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS

See also

References