Stabsfeldwebel

Stabsfeldwebel (StFw or SF) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant, Master Sergeant, or Senior Master Sergeant in the US Armed forces, and to Warrant Officer Class 2 in the British Army and Royal Navy. In terms of years-in-duty, the Stabsfeldwebel has more experience than most other nation's OR8's, since it takes a minimum of 16 years from the promotion to Feldwebel (min. 3 years in service) to reach the rank of Stabsfeldwebel.

In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as Herr Stabsfeldwebel also informally / short Staber.

The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group (Senior NCOs with portepee) is as follows:

The abbreviation "OR" stands for "Other Ranks / fr: sous-officiers et militaires du rang / ru:другие ранги, кроме офицероф"!

The ranks Stabsfeldwebel, Stabsoberjäger, Stabsfeuerwerker and Stabswachtmeister were introduced to the Austro-Hungarian Army (k.u.k. armed forces) in 1913.

⇒ main article Rank insignias of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces

The rank was introduced by the German Wehrmacht equivalent to the German Kriegsmarine Stabsoberfeldwebel grades (Stabsoberbootsmann, Stabsobersteuermann and Stabsobersteuwermann) in 1938.

Not all Heer NCO's in this grades were called Unterfeldwebel, Feldwebel, Oberfeldwebel and Stabsfeldwebel which are ranks in the infantry tradition. In some other cervice branches, for example, the equivalent ranks were as follows.

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