Commander (Cdr) (, Kk) is a senior-grade officer rank in the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

, ranking below

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and above lieutenant commander. The rank is equivalent to lieutenant colonel in the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

, Swedish Air Force and the

Swedish Amphibious Corps The Amphibious Corps (, Amf) is the Marines, marine infantry arm of the Swedish Navy, with an emphasis on coastal defence. It has its roots in the Swedish Coastal Artillery, coastal artillery (, KA) but after the end of the Cold War it was seen as ...

. Before 1972, the rank of commander was divided into two ranks: commander (''kommendörkapten av 1:a graden/klassen'') and lieutenant commander (''kommendörkapten av 2:a graden/klassen'').

History

Commander has been used as a rank from 1747 to 1771. Commanders of the

were divided into two ranks: commander (''kommendörkapten av 1:a klass'', ) and lieutenant commander (''kommendörkapten av 2:a klassen'', ). The first rank corresponded to a lieutenant colonel and the second to a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

. From 1771 the whole rank was called lieutenant colonel also in the navy, but from 1824 lieutenant commander (''kommendörkapten av 2:a klassen''). In 1845 the division of classes disappeared, and the rank became only commander until 1866, when the rank was again divided into two classes. Thereafter, the ''klass'' () has been replaced by the ''grad'' (). The service for both ranks is the same in the Swedish Navy. Historically, a commander serves on board as commander of larger vessels and as department chief, division commander (destroyer division), flotilla commander and as flag captain. On land he served as head of department in the

Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration (, KMF) was the central board of the Swedish Navy in technical and economic terms. It was active between the years 1878 and 1968 when it was disbanded and amalgamated into the Defence Materiel Adm ...

and in the Naval Staff, as corps commander, head of the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College, the Royal Swedish Naval Academy, exercise and non-commissioned officer schools and the shipyard, chief of staff, conscript commander, adjutant to a station commander etc. According to the state for 1911 there were 17 ''kommendörkapten av 1:a graden'' and 18 of the ''kommendörkapten av 2:a graden''. In 1972, the division of the 1st and 2nd rank ceased and the two ranks became just commander. Since 1972, a lieutenant commander is a ''

örlogskapten Lieutenant commander (LtCdr) (, Örlkn) is a mid-ranking officer rank in the Swedish Navy. Lieutenant commanders rank above lieutenants and below commanders, and rank is equivalent to a major in the Swedish Army, Swedish Air Force and the Sw ...

'' in the Swedish Navy. On 1 July 2003, the Swedish Navy received new rank insignias. The new rank insignia system was inspired from

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The idea was that the British system was more internationally viable and thus would facilitate contact between officers. However, this drew some criticism as a commander with four galloons now got three galloons, which in the old rank insignia system was the rank insignia for

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Promotion

Promotion of the lieutenant commander to commander may take place when the lieutenant commander has completed the applicable promotion training with approved results. Promotion to positions higher than commander may take place after placement for the time being in a position at a higher position level than that which corresponds to the individual's current rank. Responsible head of promotion to commander is the Director of Human Resource at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters or the commander of the Special Forces Command.

Uniform

Shoulder mark

The top galloon is shaped like a "loop" for an officer in the

(the loop is shaped like a "grenade" for an officer in the

). The rank insignia is worn on the shoulder mark to jacket and coat (''jacka m/87'', ''kappa m/87''), as well as to blue wool sweater (''blå ylletröja m/87''), trench coat (''trenchcoat m/84''), sea coat (''sjörock 93'', black raincoat and to white shirt (''vit skjorta m/78''). Rank insignia on shoulder mark (''axelklaffshylsa 02B'') is worn on all garments with shoulder straps. 1. The shoulder mark (''Axelklaffshylsa m/02B'') is designed as galloons sewn directly to another shoulder mark (''axelklaffshylsa m/87 blå''). Since 2003 it consists of three gold galloons. Before 2003, this type of shoulder mark with three galloons was worn by a

. 2. Before 2003, commanders wore four gold galloons. Since 2003, this shoulder mark is used by a

. 3. The woven shoulder mark (''AXELKLAFFSHYLSA M/02 INVÄVD KOMMENDÖR FLOTTAN'') is worn on the naval combat dress (''sjöstridsdräkt m/93''), duty uniform (''arbetsdräkt m/87 (blå)'') and combat uniform (''Fältuniform m/90 lätt'', ''m/90 lätt blå'', ''m/90 tropik'' (green, beige and blue)). File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL hylsa.jpg, 1. Embroidered

shoulder mark A shoulder mark, also called a rank slide or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a (an elaborate shoulder strap), a (a brai ...

(2003–present) File:OF-5 Kommendör FL hylsa.jpg, 2. Embroidered

(–2003) File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL.jpg, 3. Woven

(2003–present) File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL hylsa02.jpg, 3. Woven

(2003–present)

Sleeve insignia

Rank insignia is worn on both sleeves for inner

suit jacket A suit jacket, also called a lounge jacket, dress jacket, lounge coat or suit coat, is a jacket in classic menswear that is part of a suit. History The jacket was originally a work jacket that came into fashion due to the French Revolution. It ...

(''innerkavaj m/48'') and

mess jacket The mess jacket is a type of formal jacket that ends at the waist. It features either a non-fastening double breast cut or a single-breasted version that fastens.

(''mässjacka m/1878''). 1. On the sleeve an 12,6 mm rank insignia (''gradbeteckning m/02'') and galloon (''galon m/02''). The distance between galloons should be 6 mm. The distance from the bottom edge of the sleeve to the bottom edge of the top galloon should be 100 mm. This type of sleeve insignia with three galloons was worn by a

until 2003. 2. Before 2003, commanders wore four gold galloons and a loop of gold galloon. Since 2003, this type of sleeve insignia is used by a

. File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL arm.jpg, 1. Sleeve insignia for a commander (2003–present) File:OF-5_Kommendör_FL_arm.jpg, 2. Sleeve insignia for a commander (–2003)

Hats

Peaked cap

A commander wears embellishments (''skärmbeteckning m/02/skärmbroderi m/02'') on the visor of the

peaked cap A peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover, or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It d ...

(''skärmmössa m/48''). It also fitted with a hat badge (''mössmärke m/78 off för flottan'') and with a strap in form of a golden

braid A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...

(''mössträns m/42''). File:Jan Dunmurray.jpg, Peaked cap worn by Commander Jan Dunmurray. File:Mössmärke m78 FL Officer.png, Hat badge

Side cap and winter hat

An officer wears a hat badge (''mössmärke m/78 off'') for the navy and another (''mössmärke m/87 off'') for amphibious units on the side cap (''båtmössa m/48'') and on the winter hat (''vintermössa m/87'').

Epaulette

A commander wears epaulette's (''epålett m/1878'') to

white tie White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal evening Western dress code. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a white dress shir ...

(''frack m/1878'') and to coat (''rock m/1878''). On the epaulette, a commander wears 4 mm

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

s in two rows.

Personal flags

The command flag of a commander (and for a lieutenant colonel, lieutenant commander and

), is the so-called Navy Pennant (''Örlogsvimpel''), which is a long swallowtailed pennant per fess blue and yellow. The Navy Pennant is carried on the Swedish Navy ships from or on which naval officer of a lower rank than

exercises his command, or on which he travels in the service. File:Naval Rank Flag of Sweden - Örlogsvimpel.svg, Navy Pennant

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

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Web

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kommendörkapten Military ranks of the Swedish Navy sv:Kommendörkapten