Military ranks and rank insignia of Norway were changed June 1, 2016, with the reintroduction of the Non-Commissioned Officer Corps, and the abolishment of the one-tier officer system in place since 1975.

New system of 2016

The

Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

adopted in 2015 the new scheme for military personnel, ''Militærordningen''. From 2016, the Norwegian Defence Forces have two career ladders for the military personnel; one officer scheme for personnel with a degree from the military academy, or a university degree and qualification courses, and a non-commissioned officer scheme for personnel with non-commissioned officer school.

Commissioned officers

The rank insignia for commissioned officers for the army, navy and air force respectively.

Enlisted

The following are the rank insignia for enlisted for the army, navy and air force respectively.

Historic ranks

System 1916–1930

Officers

Enlisted

System ?–1975

20150806 08-1739 Uniforms-Norway 1962 ENG-FRE HR

Officers

Enlisted

System 1975–2016

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

did not have a non-commissioned officer system and thus

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 ...

and

Petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...

are grouped with the officers under the common designation ''befal''. The

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

are divided into three groups: The befal (company officers, ranks

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

inclusive), the staff officers (stabsoffiser, ranks Major to brigadier inclusive), and the generals (Major General to General inclusive). ''Fenrik'' (

) used to be referred to as

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

(Norwegian: Fenrik), while the rank of lieutenant went by First Lieutenant. The rank of Brigadier is not an old tradition in the Norwegian armed forces and was instated as a replacement for ''Oberst I'' (First Colonel); what is now ''Oberst'' used to be ''Oberst II'' (Second Colonel). As shown, the

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

have two ranks which differ from the

regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

: Dragon ( Dragoon) instead of Menig (

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

), and Rittmester (

Rittmeister __NOTOC__ (German and Scandinavian for "riding master" or "cavalry master") is or was a military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Scandinavia, and some other countries. A ''Rittmeister'' is typic ...

) instead of Kaptein (

). The ranks of ''Grenader'' and ''Matros'' were bestowed upon soldiers who have finished the 12 months compulsory service and had signed one or more three-year contracts to continue serving. The ranks of ''Visekorporal/Visekonstabel/Vingsoldat'' (

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

/Leading Rate) were usually ascribed to soldiers with long and/or outstanding service, though may be bestowed on soldiers with extra responsibilities (e.g. the shift-commander among a group of soldiers on guard-duty). A ''UB-Korporal/Kvartermesteraspirant'' (Rate Corporal/Petty Officer-in-training) was a soldier who has finished the UB course ''(Utskrevet Befalskurs)'', a course intended to prepare conscripted soldiers for non-commissioned officer duties, but still under training in "the field". After one-year course and service these soldiers were qualified for the rank of ''Sersjant'' or ''Kvartermester''.

New system of 2016

Commissioned officers

Enlisted

Historic ranks

System 1916–1930

Officers

Enlisted

System ?–1975

Officers

Enlisted

System 1975–2016

Officers

Enlisted

References