Military ranks of the Swedish Armed Forces

Military ranks of the Swedish Armed Forces shows the rank system used in the Swedish Armed Forces today, as well as changes during the 20th century due to changes in the personnel structure.

Current ranks

Since 2009, there are three categories of ranks, Officerare, Specialistofficerare and GSS- Gruppbefäl, soldater och sjömän

Officerare (Officers)

Officers lead units from platoon and up. They are trained at the Military Academy Karlberg in a three-year academic program(180 ECTS credits) and graduate as fänrik. Cadets with no prior service must complete a 6-9 months preparatory course before they start at the academy.

Specialistofficerare (Senior NCOs, lit. Specialist Officers)

Specialistofficerare are educated at specialist schools and centres for 1,5 years and graduate as Förste Sergeant. Experienced soldiers who have served as corporals and sergeants may take a shortened course. Civilians must complete a preparatory course before the 1,5 year specialist training starts.

GSS - Gruppbefäl, soldater och sjömän (junior NCOs, soldiers and seamen, lit. Squad leaders, soldiers and seamen)

The two highest ranks in this category, korpral and sergeant, form their own sub-category, gruppbefäl. They command squads of approx. 8 men. Ordinary soldiers are given the rank menig 1 klass with different insignia depending on how long they have served.

When the professional NCO corps was reintroduced in 2009 it was decided that some ranks in this category should, like the old underofficerare ranks in 1960-1972, have a relative rank higher than the most junior officers. The current relative ranks are shown in the table below.

OF (Officer Ranks)	Other Ranks (Specialistofficerare)
OF-9 (General, Amiral)
OF-8 (Generallöjtnant, Viceamiral)
OF-7 (Generalmajor, Konterameral)
OF-6 (Brigadgeneral, Flottiljamiral)
OF-5 (Överste, Kommendör)
OF-4 (Överstelöjtnant, Kommendörkapten)
	OR-9 (Regements-/Flottiljförvaltare)
OF-3 (Major, Örlogskapten)
OF-2 (Kapten)
	OR-8 (Förvaltare)
OF-1 (Löjtnant)
	OR-7 (Fanjunkare)
OF-1 (Fänrik)
	OR-6 (Förste Sergeant)
GSS - Squad leaders, soldiers and seamen
OR-5 (Sergeant)
OR-4 (Korpral)
OR-3 (Vice korpral)
OR-2 (Menig 1kl)
OR-1 (Menig)

Rank insignias

The table below shows ranks according to seniority, with the most senior to the right. OF denotes officers, OR other ranks (as per STANAG 2116). Those ranks were ratified by the supreme commander on October 24, 2008, and became effective as of January 1, 2009.^[1] Military ranks of (primarily) Great Britain have been used as a basis for harmonization with NATO.

Army and Amphibious Corps	Gruppbefäl & Soldater					Specialistofficerare				Officerare
	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7	OR-8	OR-9	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9
	Branch insignia^1
	Menig	Menig 1kl^2	Vicekorpral	Korpral	Sergeant	Förste sergeant	Fanjunkare	Förvaltare	Regements- förvaltare	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Major	Överste- löjtnant	Överste	Brigad- general	General- major	General- löjtnant	General
Navy	Gruppbefäl & Sjömän					Specialistofficerare				Officerare
	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7	OR-8	OR-9	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9
	Sjöman	Sjöman 1kl^2	Vicekorpral	Korpral	Sergeant	Förste Sergeant	Fanjunkare	Förvaltare	Flottilj- förvaltare	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Örlogskapten'	Komendör- kapten	Komendör	Flotilj- amiral	Konter- amiral	Viceamiral	Amiral
Air force	Gruppbefäl & soldater					Specialistofficerare				Officerare
	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7	OR-8	OR-9	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9
	Menig	Menig 1kl^2	Vicekorpral	Korpral	Sergeant	Förste sergeant	Fanjunkare	Förvaltare	Flottilj- förvaltare	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Major	Överste- löjtnant	Överste	Brigad- general	General- major	General- löjtnant	General
Officer Trainees
			Officer Cadets
		OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5
		Officer Candidate	First Year	Second Year	Third Year
Home Guard	Home Guard Soldiers
	OR-1	OR-2	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7	OR-8	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3
	Menig	Menig 1kl	Korpral	Sergeant	Förste sergeant	Fanjunkare	Förvaltare	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Major

¹ Menig wear branch insignia (see table below).

² Menig 1kl are given one additional bar/stripe after 3, 5 and 7 years of service (see table below) without advancement in rank, seniority and skill level.

Branch insignias Infantry Cavalry Artillery Armored Air-Defense Engineering Signal Supply Amphibious

Years in service insignias for Menig 1kl Army, Amphibious Corps Navy Air force

Distribution of personnel vs ranks

Since the end of the Cold War, Sweden has gradually abolished the mass-mobilization system based on national service and universal military training of all young males, through a system of selective draft of an increasingly lower proportion of available manpower, to a system based on volunteer enlistment. Concomitantly a large reduction of forces and capabilities has occurred, as well as a substantial increase of participation in "hot" international operations. Reflecting these new conditions a new personnel structure was introduced in 2009 (see historical section below), emphasizing junior leadership and specialist competence through the re-creation of a NCO Corps. As a result, there is a large surplus of older soldiers of officer rank that either will have to be phased out through early retirement or converted into non-commissioned officers.

Personnel^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Officers, including reserve officers		2009[2]	2010[3]	2011[4]	2012[5]^6
OF-9	General / Admiral	2	2	3 ^1	3 ^1
OF-7 - OF-8	Maj, General / Rear Admiral, Lt. General / Vice Admiral	40	43	21	20
OF-6	Brigadier General / Rear Admiral LH	85	86	46	47
OF-5	Colonel / Captain (N)	268	263	192	187
OF-4	Lieutenant Colonel / Commander	1,174	1,217	1,183	1,181
OF-3	Major / Lieutenant Commander	3,053	2,891	2,725	2,667
OF-2	Captain / Lieutenant (N)	7,586	7,433	7,026	6,936
OF-1	Lieutenant / Sub Lieutenant	5,652	5,428	5,093	4,981
OF-1	Second Lieutenant / Acting Sub Lieutenant	571	749	810	785
OR-9	Regimental Sergeant Major / Command Master Chief Petty Officer	0	0	0	0
OR-8	Sergeant Major / Master Chief Petty Officer '	0	0	2	5
OR-7	Colour Sergeant	21	8	1	6
OR-6	First Sergeant	260	89+(427)	334	531
OF-OR	Other officers			74	146
Total number of officers		18,712	18,636	17,508	17,494
GSS - Soldiers, seamen, specialists and squad leaders ^4
OR-5	Sergeant	770^5	909^5	307^2	322^2
				1,637 ^3	4,148 ^3
OR-4	Corporal
OR-3	Lance Corporal
OR-2	Private 1st class
OR-1	Private
Total number of soldiers, seamen, specialists and squad leaders		770	909	1,637	4,148

¹ The King of Sweden, the supreme commander, and the former supreme commander serving in the EU as general, retaining his Swedish rank of general.

² Sergeant (OR5) is a GSS rank, but the number is included in the table for professional officers in the annual report.

³ The annualized sum of all GSS personnel, including readiness personnel (beredskaps BSA) 607, augmentees (förstärknings FS) 477 and personnel abroad (US) 555. Disclaimer: Personnel serving abroad (US) may also consist of former professional officers serving in officer ranks. It is not clear whether the number also includes sergeants (OR5), which are recorded separately in the table "professional officers" of the annual report. Thus, the number could as well be 1,637 - 307 = 1,337.

⁴ This constitute the number of GSS/K, continuously serving personnel. GSS/T (reserve personnel serving some days a year) is an emerging category personnel that was not possible to measure at the time the annual report was published.

⁵ The sum of all personnel between OR1 and OR5, including readiness personnel (beredskaps BSA), augmentees (förstärknings FS) and personnel serving abroad (US). Disclaimer: Personnel serving abroad (US) may also consist of former professional officers serving in officer ranks.

⁶ This includes officers serving at times (T) as of the annual report for 2011.

Officer candidates^[2][3]

Officer candidates who graduate as Fanrik 2010	107
Officer candidates who graduate as Fanrik 2011	117
Officer candidates who graduate as Fanrik 2012	163
S-Officer candidates who graduate as First Sergeant 2010	317
Total officer candidates	704

Translation to English

This table shows the official translations^[6] of the Swedish ranks and their abbreviations.

Translation of OR, Other Ranks to English
Code	Swedish Rank	Army		Navy		Amphibious Corps		Airforce
OR-1	Menig	Private	Pte	Seaman	S	Marine	M	Airman	Amn
OR-2	Menig 1.kl	Private First Class	PFC	Seaman First Class	SFC	Marine First Class	MFC	Airman First Class	AFC
OR-3	Vicekorpral	Lance Corporal	LCpl	Able Seaman	AS	Lance Corporal	LCpl	Senior Airman	SrA
OR-4	Korpral	Corporal	Cpl	Able Seaman First Class	ASFC	Corporal	Cpl	Corporal	Cpl
OR-5	Sergeant	Sergeant	Sgt	Leading Seaman	LS	Sergeant	Sgt	Sergeant	Sgt
OR-6	1:e Sergeant	Sergeant First Class	SgtFC	Petty Officer	PO	Sergeant First Class	SgtFC	Sergeant First Class	SgtFC
OR-7	Fanjunkare	Colour Sergeant	CSgt	Chief Petty Officer	CPO	Colour Sergeant	CSgt	Colour Sergeant	CSgt
OR-8	Förvaltare	Sergeant Major	WO2	Warrant Officer	WO	Sergeant Major	WO2	Sergeant Major	WO2
OR-9	Regementsförvaltare Flottiljförvaltare^2	Regimental Sergeant Major	WO1	Chief Warrant Officer	CWO	Regimental Sergeant Major	WO1	Wing Sergeant Major	WO1
Translation of OF, Officer Ranks to English
Code	Swedish Rank	Army		Navy		Amphibious Corps		Airforce
OF-1	Fänrik	Second Lieutenant	2Lt	Acting Sub-Lieutenant	ASLt	Second Lieutenant	2Lt	Second Lieutenant	2Lt
OF-1	Löjtnant	Lieutenant	Lt	Sub-Lieutenant	SLt	Lieutenant	Lt	Lieutenant	Lt
OF-2	Kapten	Captain	Capt	Lieutenant (N)^3	Lt (N)^3	Captain	Capt	Captain	Capt
OF-3	Major Örlogskapten^1	Major	Maj	Lieutenant Commander	LtCdr	Major	Maj	Major	Maj
OF-4	Överstelöjtnant Kommendörkapten^1	Lieutenant Colonel	LtCol	Commander	Cdr	Lieutenant Colonel	LtCol	Lieutenant Colonel	LtCol
OF-5	Överste Kommendör^1	Colonel	Col	Captain (N)^3	Capt (N)^3	Colonel	Col	Colonel	Col
OF-6	Brigadgeneral Flottiljamiral^1	Brigadier General	BGen	Rear Admiral (lower half)	RAdm (LH)	Brigadier General	BGen	Brigadier General	BGen
OF-7	Generalmajor Konteramiral^1	Major General	MajGen	Rear Admiral	RAdm	Major General	MajGen	Major General	MajGen
OF-8	Generallöjtnant Viceamiral^1	Lieutenant General	LtGen	Vice Admiral	VAdm	Lieutenant General	LtGen	Lieutenant General	LtGen
OF-9	General Amiral^1	General	Gen	Admiral	Adm	General	Gen	General	Gen

¹ used in the Navy.

² used in the Navy and Air Force.

³ for clarification of ranks, personnel in Navy appends (N) after rank or abbreviation.

Historic ranks

When an army based on national service (conscription) was introduced in 1901 all commissioned officers had ranks that were senior to the warrant officers (underofficerare) and non-commissioned officers (underbefäl). In a reform 1926 the relative rank of the then senior warrant officer, fanjunkare, was increased to be equal with the junior officer rank underlöjtnant and above the most junior officer rank fänrik. In 1960 the relative rank of the warrant officers were elevated further so that

i. The lowest warrant officer, sergeant, had relative rank just below the lowest officer rank, fänrik.

ii. The second warrant officer rank, fanjunkare, had relative rank between fänrik and löjtnant.

iii. The highest warrant officer rank, förvaltare, had relative rank between first lieutenant and captain.

In 1972 the personnel structure changed, reflecting increased responsibilities of warrant and non-commissioned officers, renaming the underofficerare as kompaniofficerare, giving them the same ranks as company grade officers (fänrik, löjtnant, kapten). Underbefäl was renamed plutonsofficerare and given the rank titles of sergeant and fanjunkare, although their relative ranks were now placed below fänrik. The commissioned officers were renamed regementsofficerare, beginning with löjtnant. The three-track career system was maintained, as well as three separate messes.

A major change in the personnel structure in 1983 (NBO 1983), merged the three professional corps of platoon officers, company officers, and regimental officers into a one-track career system within a single corps called professional officers (yrkesofficerare). The three messes were also merged to one.

Ranks 1983 - 2009

National Servicemen Värnpliktiga				National Service Officers Värnpliktsofficerare
				Professional Officers (one-track officer system) Yrkesofficerare (enhetsbefäl)
Army
Trainee ranks	Menig^3 Korpral	Furir Kadett SO^1	Sergeant Kadett OHS^2 1st,2nd year	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Major	Överste- löjtnant	Överste	Överste 1gr	Brigad- general	General- major	General- löjtnant	General

• (1) Specialist school where aspirants graduate as Sergeant (Specialist Officer) (year 2008)
• (2) Military Academy, cadets graduate as Fänrik
• (3) Privates wear insignia of branch. In this case the infantry.

Ranks 1972 - 1983

National Servicemen (Värnpliktiga)						National Service Officers (Värnpliktsofficerare)
			Platoon Officers (Plutonsofficerare NCO)			Company Officers (Kompaniofficerare Limited Duty Officers)
							Regimental Officers (Regementsofficerare Officers)
Regular ranks
Trainee ranks	Menig Korpral	Furir	Överfurir Kadett1	Sergeant Kadett2-3	Fanjunkare	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Major Örlogs- kapten	Överste- löjtnant Kommendör- kapten	Överste Kommendör	Överste 1gr Kommendör 1gr	General- major Konter- amiral	General- löjtnant Viceamiral	General Amiral

Ranks 1953 - 1972

National Servicemen (Värnpliktiga)						National Service W.O. (Värnpliktiga underofficerare)			National Service Officers (Värnpliktiga officerare)
		Underbefäl (NCO)				Underofficerare (Warrant Officers)			Officerare (Commissioned Officers)
Regular ranks
Trainee ranks	Menig Vicekorpral	Korpral	Furir	Överfurir	Rustmästare	Sergeant Kadett1-2	Fanjunkare	Förvaltare	Fänrik	Löjtnant	Kapten	Major Örlogs- kapten	Överste- löjtnant Komendör- kapten	Överste Komendör	General- major Konter- amiral	General- löjtnant Viceamiral	General Amiral

Note that the rank of Fältmarskalk (Field Marshal) was a de jure rank before the reform of 1972, even though it has not been used since 1824.

References

1. Lieutenant Colonel Landström, Matthias (April 2008). "Utveckling av tvåbefälssystemet i Försvarsmakten 16100:66576": 5.
2. http://www.mil.se/upload/dokumentfiler/Årsredovisningar/Årsredovisning%202008/Bilaga%203%20Årsredovisning%202008.pdf
3. http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/upload/dokumentfiler/%C3%85rsredovisningar/%C3%85rsredovisning%202009/%C3%85R%2009%20bilaga%202.pdf
4. http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/upload/dokumentfiler/Årsredovisningar/Årsredovisning 2010/Bilaga 2 ÅR 2010.pdf
5. http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/upload/dokumentfiler/Årsredovisningar/Årsredovisning%202011/Bilaga2.pdf
6. Translation of ranks to English

• Research: Ph.D. thesis in "War and the career system", Dagens Nyheter by Professor Mats Alvesson, researcher of military organization at Lunds University, and Karl Ydén at the University of Göteborg.

External links

• Military Ranks of Kingdom of Sweden