EDF MILITARY RANKS
Since EDF recruits from many armies of European Union, a unified system of ranks has been created. Whereas it’s one agreed upon by a committee (as many other things in EU are), it is however used. Most EDF personnel will use English names for the ranks, although French – with their fierce independence – use the French variants of these rank names (in italics).
Spanish, Portugal and Italian tend to apply a half by half approach – they use English ranks with an accent typical for Romanian languages, therefore it sounds close to French. Germans and Austrians try to use proper English namings, but all too often they apply their own, hard to miss, accent.
Curiously, the best and clearest versions can be heard among troopers recruited from Scandinavian armies, although they are rarely seen in Africa.
| Army | Air Force | Navy |
| Private / Soldat | EDF Air Force Personnel uses the same
rank structure as the Army, however, when distinction is needed, they
add „of the Air Force” / „de Amee l’Air” notificator to the rank name. It is also a popular token of courtesy to refer to Air Force personnel of NCO or officer rank as “(rank name) pilot”, although you should first check whether the person has pilot’s badge on the uniform… |
Seaman / Matelot |
| Prime Private / Soldat Primee classe | Able Seaman / Matelot Brevete | |
| Corporal / Caporal | Petty officer / Quartier-maitre | |
| Senior Corporal / Caporal-Chef | Chief petty officer / Premier Quartier-Maitre | |
| Sergeant / Sergent | Warrant officer / Maitre | |
| Master sergeant / Sergent-chef | Chief warrant officer / Premier-Maitre | |
| 2nd Leutenant / Sous-lieutenant | Sub-leutenant / Aspirant | |
| Leutenant / Lieutenant | Lieutenant / Ensignee (de vaissau) | |
| Capitan / Capitaine | Lieutenant commander | |
| Major / Commandant | Commander / Lieutenant (de vaissau) | |
| Leutenant-colonel | Capitan (of the Navy) / Capitaine (de vaissau) | |
| Colonel | Rear-Admiral / Contre-Amiral | |
| Brigadier-General | Vice-Admiral / Vice-Amiral | |
| Division-General | Admiral / Amiral |
As you can see, the table is short, since it’s meant to
represent ranks in the EDF, and only in the EDF. Because of different
martial traditions and rank structures the various state forces grew
from, it was found a bad idea to construct a table of ranks
encompassing every single variant of a rank that could happen in an
armed force. Instead, if it is needed, and outside of EDF service,
personnel may use their rank in their national militaries.
Written By Mike Van Atta