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Sergeant major

Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world.

For other uses, see Sergeant major (disambiguation).

History[edit]

In 16th century Spain, the Sargento mayor ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the army's command structure; he also acted as a sort of chief of staff to the army's commander.


In the 17th century, sergeant majors appeared in individual regiments. These were field officers, third in command of their regiments (after their colonels and lieutenant colonels), with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeant majors (although obviously on a smaller scale). The older position became known as "sergeant major general" to distinguish it. Over time, the term sergeant was dropped from both titles, giving rise to the modern ranks of major and major general.


The full title of sergeant major fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment. It is about this time that the U.S. and British histories of the title diverge, with the American Revolutionary War.

Level 2: Sergeant-Major of the

Army

Level 3: Formation sergeant-major

Level 4: Group or base sergeant-major or regimental sergeant-major

[6]

France[edit]

In France, the rank of sergent-major (distinct from the rank of major) was created in 1776. He was the highest ranked non-commissioned officer (French: sous-officier) in the infantry company; the equivalent in the cavalry was the maréchal-des-logis-chef. The sergeant-major was charged with the administration of the company. Under the Ancien Regime, the equivalent at the general staff headquarters of the regiment was the adjudant sous-officiers, a rank which was also established in 1776, who was the senior NCO of the regiment.


Following the reforms of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it became harder to ascend to the officer corps, due to primarily age restrictions. With the addition of an adjudant (warrant officer) in each company, the sergeant-major became limited to purely administrative functions.


The rank was replaced with that of sergent-chef in 1928. The rank was re-established from 1942 until 1962 between sergent-chef and adjudant as the NCO in charge of the accounting responsibility of the company. There were no promotions to sergeant-major after 1964 and the rank was formally abolished in 1971. The last NCO to have held the rank retired in 1985.


Notable soldiers who held the rank of sergeant-major included Marshal of France François Achille Bazaine, Édouard Husband, and Henri Tonel.

Sergeant major

 United States

SGM (Army) SgtMaj (Marine Corps)

Non-commissioned officer

OR-9

E-9

1776

Command sergeant major (USA)

Sargento-maior
(Angolan Army)[17]

Sargento-maior (Angolan Army)[17]

Première sergent major
(Kirundi: Sereja majoro mu murwi wa mbere)
(Burundi Army)[18]

Première sergent major (Kirundi: Sereja majoro mu murwi wa mbere) (Burundi Army)[18]

Sargento-mor
(Cape Verdean National Guard)[19]

Sargento-mor (Cape Verdean National Guard)[19]

Sergent-major
(Central African Ground Forces)

Sergent-major (Central African Ground Forces)

Sergent major
(Chadian Ground Forces)

Sergent major (Chadian Ground Forces)

Sargento mayor
(Colombian National Army)[20]

Sargento mayor (Colombian National Army)[20]

Sergent major
(Land Forces of the DR Congo)

Sergent major (Land Forces of the DR Congo)

Sargento mayor
(Dominican Army)[21]

Sargento mayor (Dominican Army)[21]

Sargento mayor
(Salvadoran Army)[22]

Sargento mayor (Salvadoran Army)[22]

Sargento mayor
(Guatemalan Army)[23]

Sargento mayor (Guatemalan Army)[23]

Sargento mayor
(Honduran Army)[24]

Sargento mayor (Honduran Army)[24]

Sersan mayor
(Indonesian Army)[25]

Sersan mayor (Indonesian Army)[25]

Sergente Maggiore
(Italian Army)[26]

Sergente Maggiore (Italian Army)[26]

Seržantas majoras
(Lithuanian Land Force)[27]

Seržantas majoras (Lithuanian Land Force)[27]

Sergent-major
(Madagascar Ground Forces)[28]

Sergent-major (Madagascar Ground Forces)[28]

ސާރޖަންޓް މޭޖަރ
Saarjant meyjar
(Maldives National Defence Force)[29]

ސާރޖަންޓް މޭޖަރ Saarjant meyjar (Maldives National Defence Force)[29]

Sergent-major
(Moldovan Ground Forces)[30]

Sergent-major (Moldovan Ground Forces)[30]

Sergent-major
(Royal Moroccan Army)[31]

Sergent-major (Royal Moroccan Army)[31]

Sergeant-majoor
(Royal Netherlands Army)[32]

Sergeant-majoor (Royal Netherlands Army)[32]

Sersjantmajor
(Norwegian Army)[33]

Sersjantmajor (Norwegian Army)[33]

Sargento-mor
(Portuguese Army)[34]

Sargento-mor (Portuguese Army)[34]

Sergent-major
(Romanian Land Forces)[35]

Sergent-major (Romanian Land Forces)[35]

Sergeant major
(Rwandan Land Forces)[36]

Sergeant major (Rwandan Land Forces)[36]

Sargento-mor
(Army of São Tomé and Príncipe)

Sargento-mor (Army of São Tomé and Príncipe)

Sergeant-majoor
(Suriname Army)[37]

Sergeant-majoor (Suriname Army)[37]

Sergeant major
(United States Army)[38]

Sergeant major (United States Army)[38]

Comparative military ranks

United States Army enlisted rank insignia of World War I

United States Army enlisted rank insignia of World War II

Major (France)

by CSM (Ret.) Daniel K. Elder

History of the Sergeant Major (US)

Sergeants Major of the Army.  0-16-067866-8, CMH Pub. 70-63-1. By CSM Daniel K. Elder, et al. Describes the origin and growth of the Office of the Sergeant Major of the Army. Includes biographies of each of the Sergeants Major of the Army.

ISBN

Official Site of the Chief Warrant Officer of the Army (Canada)

Official Site of the Sergeant Major of the Army (U.S.)

Official Site of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (U.S.)

Former Sergeants Major of the Army discuss the position

U.S. Army Enlisted Rank Insignia - Criteria, Background, and Images