Colonel on the Staff

Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honorary role outside the executive military structure, such as advocacy for the troops.

In the British Army, the term colonel-commandant goes back at least to the American War of Independence, when it denoted an officer in command of a regiment.

In 1921, the Army abolished the appointment of brigadier-general and replaced it with the new appointments of colonel-commandant and colonel on the staff: Colonels-commandant commanded brigades, depots or training establishments, while colonels on the staff held administrative appointments. Like brigadier-general, both of the new appointments were temporary, the holder reverting to his substantive rank (usually colonel) at the end of his appointment. They were both abolished from 1 June 1928, replaced by the appointment of brigadier (though the rank insignia — a crown over three "pips" or stars — remained the same). The Indian Army used the same appointments.

In the Royal Marines, the ranks of colonel commandant and colonel 2nd commandant dated back to 1755, when fifty companies of marines were raised in three divisions: each division had a colonel commandant and a colonel 2nd commandant. These ranked below major-general and above lieutenant-colonel; a colonel 2nd commandant ranked with a Royal Navy captain or an Army colonel, while a colonel commandant ranked with a commodore or a brigadier-general. The Royal Marines adopted the appointment of brigadier-general to replace colonel commandant in 1913, and dispensed with it again, along with the Army, in 1921. Like the Army, the Royal Marines adopted the appointment of brigadier in 1928, but the two ranks of colonel commandant persisted at least as far as World War II. By 1957, however, they had been abolished and replaced with colonel.

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