Oberstleutnant Joachim Von Heydebreck (1861-1914)
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() is a senior field officer rank in several
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to
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 ...
. It is currently used by both the
ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...
and air forces of Austria, Germany,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, Denmark, and Norway. The
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
rank is a direct translation, as is the Finnish rank .


Austria

Austria's armed forces, the ''Bundesheer'', uses the rank Oberstleutnant as its sixth-highest officer rank. Like in Germany and Switzerland, Oberstleutnants are above Majors and below Obersts. The term also finds usage with the Austrian Bundespolizei (federal police force) and
Justizwache The Justizwache ( en, Judicial Guard, literally ''Justice Watch'') is the prison guards corps of Austria. The corps is a department of the Ministry of Justice. Their tasks are the safeguarding of penitentiaries, the safeguarding of inmates, and th ...
(prison guards corps). These two organizations are civilian in nature, but their ranks are nonetheless structured in a military fashion.


Belgium

File:Army-BEL-OF-04.svg, nl-BE, Luitenant-kolonel
german: Oberstleutnant


Denmark

The Danish rank of is based around the German term. Ranked OF-4 within NATO and having the paygrade of M401, it is used in the Royal Danish Army and the Royal Danish Air Force. Denmark-Army-OF-4-M11.svg, Army RDAF Lt Col.svg, Air Force


Germany

Typically, suffixes can be applied to the word Oberstleutnant to specify the individual type of officer. Retired officers that are not incapacitated (i.e. theoretically available for reactivation) from service continue to use their title with the suffix ''a.D.'' (Germany) or ''aD'' (Switzerland), an abbreviation of ''außer Dienst'', 'out of service'. Suffixes that specify military specialization in active service include ''Oberstleutnant i.G.'' ('im Generalstabsdienst') for general staff officers or ''Oberstleutnant d.R.'' ('der Reserve') for reservists. The suffix ''i.R.'' ('im Ruhestand'), implying retirement without the legal specification of a.D., is unofficial.


Bundeswehr

The armed forces of West Germany and unified Germany since 1955, the ''Bundeswehr'' uses the Oberstleutnant rank in the
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
and
German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...
. Equivalents in the other branches are ''Fregattenkapitän'' for the German Navy, ''Oberfeldarzt'' for medical staff, ''Flottillenarzt'' for naval medical staff, ''Oberfeldapotheker'' for apothecary staff, ''Flottillenapotheker'' for naval apothecary staff, and ''Oberfeldveterinär'' for veterinary medical staff. Within the German state employee paygrade system, the Oberstleutnant is placed within ''Besoldungsgruppe A'' and receives either the A14 or A15 paygrades, depending on individual seniority. Thus, the Oberstleutnant is paid an equivalent wage to that of first-class consuls and legates in the foreign service (A14) or state-employed school directors, ambassadors and general consuls (A15). The age limit for Oberstleutnant-rank officers is 61. The Oberstleutnant's shoulder straps in Army and Air Force are marked by two vertically aligned stars above oak leaves.


Bundesgrenzschutz

The
Bundesgrenzschutz Bundesgrenzschutz (BGS; en, Federal Border Guard) is the former name of the German ''Bundespolizei'' (Federal Police). Established on 16 March 1951 as a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the BGS originally was primari ...
police force used the rank Oberstleutnant until 1976, and was subsequently replaced by the terms ''Polizeioberrat'' and ''Polizeidirektor'' during the government's effort to differentiate between West Germany's police and armed forces.


Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS

The Wehrmacht (1935-1945) of Nazi Germany used the rank of Oberstleutnant for Army and Air Force, much in the same style the Bundeswehr does. The Waffen-SS (1933-1945) used the rank '' Obersturmbannführer'' as an equivalent.


Nationale Volksarmee (NVA)

The National People's Army (1956-1990) of East Germany used the rank Oberstleutnant (abbr. OSL) for its army and air force, whereas the Volksmarine used the term ''Fregattenkapitän''.


Norway

The rank of was introduced around the same time as Denmark, as Norway at the time was part of
Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish and Norwegian: ) was an early modern multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe I ...
. Norway-army-OF-4.svg, Army Norway-air force-OF-4.svg, Air Force


Sweden

The Swedish variant , is a senior field grade military officer rank in the
Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...
and the
Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...
, immediately below the rank of Colonel and just above the rank of
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 ...
. It is equivalent to the naval rank of Commodore captain in the
Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...
. Sweden-Army-OF-4 (M1987).svg, Army OF-4 Överstelöjtnant AMF hylsa.jpg, Amphibious Corps OF-4 Överstelöjtnant FV hylsa.svg, Air Force


Switzerland

CHE OF4 Oberstlt2.svg, Army


Swiss Guard

Rank insignia of Oberstleutnant (OF-4) Pontifical Swiss Guard.svg, Army


See also

* Ranks of the German Bundeswehr *
Rank insignia of the German Bundeswehr The rank insignia of the federal armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany indicate rank and branch of service in the German Army (), German Air Force (), or the German Navy (). They are regulated by the "presidential order on rank designat ...
* Comparative military ranks of World War I * Comparative military ranks of World War II


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * Military ranks of Germany {{mil-rank-stub de:Oberstleutnant