Before Unification as the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, the Canadian military had three distinct services: the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

, the Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

, and the Canadian Army. All three services had a Regular (full time) component and a reserve (part time) component. The rank structure for these services were based on the services of the British military, the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

, and the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

. The change to a "Canadian" rank structure meant that many of the traditional (British) rank titles and insignia were deleted.

Changes: navy

Almost all vestiges of naval tradition were lost when the navy was unified with the army and air force in 1968. However, naval rank titles remained for the personnel of the new Maritime Command. On the Canadian Forces service uniform, the rank insignia of officers up to the rank of naval Captain followed the old Royal Canadian Navy pattern but with the executive curl deleted. However, the executive curl was permitted on naval mess dress for all naval officers. In 1985 a new naval service uniform was introduced and on June 11, 2010 the executive curl was reinstated for use by all naval officers. The rank insignia for other ranks continues to be based on army pattern insignia.

Changes: army

While the insignia for non-commissioned personnel of the CF very closely matched that of the pre-unification army, there were some changes and new classes of ranks were created. The army had previously had general officers, officers, warrant officers, senior NCOs, junior NCOs, and men. All personnel that were not officers were referred to collectively as "other ranks". After unification, other ranks became known as non-commissioned members (NCMs). The category of senior NCOs now included only one rank – that of sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

 – whereas before it had included both staff sergeant

Staff Sergeant

Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...

s and sergeants. There were also three grades of warrant officer, whereas immediately before unification there had been only two.

The appointments of lance corporal

Lance Corporal

Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organizations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer, usually equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.- Etymology :The presumed...

 and lance sergeant were deleted. Originally, there were only privates and corporals below the rank of sergeant. Those corporals with leadership training came to be referred to as "B" corporals (for having completed Part B of the leadership training) and started to wear a crown over their two chevrons. Eventually the crown was changed to a maple leaf surmounting the chevrons, and the appointment of master corporal was created after much hostility and confusion within the ranks regarding who would be providing leadership at the lowest levels of Mobile Command (the new name for what used to be the Army).

Changes: air force

The distinctive air force rank titles were eliminated, and Air Command used the same rank titles as Mobile Command.

Relative ranks and responsibilities

The ranks of the new Canadian Forces did not match up exactly with the ranks (and attendant responsibilities) of the old system.

In the army, for example, an infantry platoon

Platoon

A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...

 would have a sergeant for a second in command and a staff sergeant would serve as a company quartermaster

Quartermaster

Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...

 sergeant. In the new Canadian Forces, however, a warrant officer would fill both those roles. While an infantry section was commanded by a corporal pre-unification, after unification that task fell on a sergeant. The rank of corporal in the army was especially downgraded in terms of responsibility; before unification a Canadian corporal was the equivalent of a sergeant in most other armies due to his responsibility as a section commander. After unification, the rank of corporal became nothing more than a pay raise with authority being granted instead to the new master corporals. Equivalents in the table below are very approximate, then.

NATO code	Canadian Forces Maritime Command (1968-2010), RCN (2010-)	Royal Canadian Navy (before 1968)		Canadian Forces (Land Force Command (from 2010 Canadian Army), Air Command (RCAF from 2010-))	Canadian Army before 1968	Royal Canadian Air Force (before 1968)
	Flag Officers			General Officers		Air Officers
OF-9	Admiral	Admiral		General	General	Air Chief Marshal Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
OF-8	Vice Admiral	Vice Admiral		Lieutenant General	Lieutenant General	Air Marshal Air Marshal Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
OF-7	Rear Admiral	Rear Admiral		Major General	Major General	Air Vice Marshal
OF-6	Commodore	Commodore		Brigadier General	Brigadier	Air Commodore Air Commodore Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Officers
OF-5	Captain (N)	Captain		Colonel	Colonel	Group Captain Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
OF-4	Commander	Commander		Lieutenant Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Wing Commander Wing Commander (rank) Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
OF-3	Lieutenant Commander	Lieutenant Commander		Major	Major	Squadron Leader Squadron Leader Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
OF-2	Lieutenant (N)	Lieutenant		Captain	Captain	Flight Lieutenant Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
OF-1	Sub Lieutenant	Sub Lieutenant		Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer Flying Officer Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
	Acting Sub Lieutenant	Acting Sub Lieutenant		Second Lieutenant	Second Lieutenant	Pilot Officer Pilot Officer Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
OF-?	Naval Cadet	Midshipman		Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military and merchant navy cadets during their training to become commissioned officers and merchant navy officers, respectively. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries...
Non-Commissioned personnel
OR-9	Chief Petty Officer 1st Class	Chief Petty Officer 1st Class		Chief Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer Class I	Warrant Officer Class I
OR-8	Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class	Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class		Master Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer Class II	Warrant Officer Class II
OR-?	Petty Officer 1st Class	Petty Officer 1st Class		Warrant Officer	Staff Sergeant	Flight Sergeant
OR-?	-	-			Sergeant	Sergeant
OR-?	Petty Officer 2nd Class	Petty Officer 2nd Class		Sergeant	Corporal	Corporal
OR-?	Master Seaman	-		Master Corporal	Lance Corporal	Leading Aircraftsman
OR-?	Leading Seaman	Leading Seaman		Corporal	Private	Aircraftsman
OR-?	Able Seaman	Able Seaman		Private (Trained)
OR-?	Ordinary Seaman	Ordinary Seaman		Private (Basic)

Certain ranks had alternate titles according to tradition and the trade of the soldier.
Privates

• Canadian Artillery - Gunner
• Armoured Units - Trooper
• Electrical and Mechanical Engineers - Craftsman
• Royal Canadian Fusiliers Regiment - Fusilier
• Rifle Regiment - Rifleman
• Royal Canadian Engineers - Sapper
• Guards Regiments - Guardsman

Lance Corporals

• Artillery - Lance Bombardier

Corporals

• Artillery - Bombardier

Master Corporals

• Artillery - Master Bombardier

Pre-unification army

Army officers' insignia before unification consisted of several rank badges based on British Army designs:

• The star of the Order of the Bath
  Order of the Bath
  The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
  
  , commonly called a "pip", in sequence of one, two or three as necessary.
• The crown, being a St. Edward's Crown
  St. Edward's Crown
  St Edward's Crown was one of the English Crown Jewels and remains one of the senior British Crown Jewels, being the official coronation crown used in the coronation of first English, then British, and finally Commonwealth realms monarchs...
  
   after 1953 (sometimes called a "queen's crown") and a Tudor Crown
  Tudor Crown
  The Tudor Crown, also known as the King's Crown or Imperial Crown, was a symbol used from 1902 to 1953 representing not only the British monarch personally, but also "The Crown", meaning the sovereign source of governmental authority...
  
   (sometimes called a "king's crown") before the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne.
• The Mameluke sword
  Mameluke Sword
  A Mameluke sword is a cross-hilted, curved, scimitar-like sword historically derived from sabres used by Mamluk warriors of Mamluk Egypt from whom the sword derives its name. It is related to the shamshir, which had its origins in Persia from where the style migrated to India, Egypt and North...
  
  , crossed by a baton, was used in general officer's insignia.

Army warrant officers also used rank badges based on British designs:

• A warrant officer class I wore the coat of arms of Canada; before the 1950s, the British royal coat of arms was worn.
• A warrant officer class II wore a crown (either St. Edward's pattern or Tudor pattern, as described under officers' insignia above) within a wreath.
• During the Second World War, a warrant officer class III had worn a plain crown; this rank was abolished in practice during, and officially after, the war.

Finally, Army NCOs also used rank badges based on British designs:

• Rank badges were constructed from white herringbone lace sewn into 1-, 2-, or 3-bar chevrons. A crown was worn over the chevrons for staff sergeants.

Post-unification Canadian Forces

The most noticeable change in rank insignia after Unification was the deletion of British stars and crowns on officer's shoulder boards. Instead, a series of gold stripes was instituted, similar to the pre-unification naval and air force rank system in concept but very different in appearance. Warrant officers retained the traditional army-style rank badges, and NCOs' chevrons were also changed, being smaller and made from newer material, similar to US Army NCO badges in the 1960s. The maple leaf also featured on NCO badges, even being worn over a private's one-bar chevron in initial issues of the new insignia in the years immediately after unification.

Generals' and admirals' insignia remained similar to pre-unification army insignia, with maple leaves replacing the stars and crowns, but retaining the crossed sabre and baton. A wide band of gold braid was also used, similar to pre-unification naval insignia worn by admirals. Naval officers of flag rank removed the rank epaulettes on the service dress on June 11, 2010, when the executive curl

Executive curl

Originating with the Royal Navy, the Executive curl or alternatively "Elliot's Eye" is the name given to the ring above a naval officer's gold lace or braid insignia.- Origins :The origin of the Executive curl, or “Elliot’s Eye,” is somewhat of a mystery...

was reinstated with additional sleeve ribbon for the admiral ranks.

External links

A complete guide to pre-Unification Army insignia and ranks can be found at http://www.canadiansoldiers.com