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=                              Colonel                               =
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                             Introduction                             
======================================================================
Colonel (; abbreviated as Col., Col or COL and alternatively spelled
coronel) is a senior military officer rank below the general officer
ranks. However, in some smaller military forces, such as those of
Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. It is also used in
some police forces and paramilitary organizations.

Historically, in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army. Modern
usage varies greatly, and in some cases, the term is used as an
honorific title that may have no direct relationship to military
service. The rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant
colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade
general or brigadier general.

Equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line
captain. In the Commonwealth's air force ranking system, the
equivalent rank is group captain.


                         History and origins                          
======================================================================
The word "colonel" derives from the same root as the word "column"
(Italian: 'colonna') and means "of a column", and, by implication,
"commander of a column". The word "colonel" is therefore linked to the
word "column" in a similar way that "brigadier" is linked to
"brigade", although in English this relationship is not immediately
obvious. By the end of the late medieval period, a group of
"companies" was referred to as a "column" of an army.

Since the word is believed to derive from sixteenth-century Italian,
it was presumably first used by Italian city states in that century.
The first use of colonel as a rank in a national army was in the
French "National Legions" ('Légions nationales') created by King
Francis I by his decree of 1534. Building on the military reforms of
Louis XII's decree of 1509, he modernized the organization of the
French royal army. Each colonel commanded a legion with a theoretical
strength of six thousand men.

With the shift from primarily mercenary to primarily national armies
in the course of the seventeenth century, a colonel (normally a member
of the aristocracy) became a holder (German 'Inhaber') or proprietor
of a military contract with a sovereign. The colonel purchased the
regimental contract — the right to hold the regiment — from the
previous holder of that right or directly from the sovereign when a
new regiment was formed or an incumbent was killed.

The Spanish equivalent rank of 'coronel' was used by the Spanish
tercios in the 16th and 17th centuries. Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba,
nicknamed 'the Great Captain', divided his armies in 'coronelías' or
colonelcies, each led by a 'coronel' (colonel). However, the Spanish
word probably derives from a different origin, in that it appears to
designate an officer of the crown ('corona', thus the rank 'coronel'),
rather than an officer of the column ('columna', which would give the
word 'columnal'). This makes the Spanish word 'coronel' probably
cognate with the English word "coroner".

As the office of colonel became an established practice, the colonel
became the senior captain in a group of companies that were all sworn
to observe his personal authority — to be ruled or regimented by him.
This regiment, or governance, was to some extent embodied in a
contract and set of written rules, also referred to as the colonel's
regiment or standing regulation(s). By extension, the group of
companies subject to a colonel's regiment (in the foregoing sense)
came to be referred to as his regiment (in the modern sense) as well.

In French usage of this period, the senior colonel in the army or, in
a field force, the senior military contractor, was the colonel general
and, in the absence of the sovereign or his designate, the colonel
general might serve as the commander of a force. The position,
however, was primarily contractual and it became progressively more of
a functionless sinecure. (The head of a single regiment or
demi-brigade would be called a 'mestre de camp' or, after the
Revolution, a 'chef de brigade'.)

By the late 19th century, colonel was a professional military rank
though still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or
equivalent unit. Along with other ranks, it has become progressively
more a matter of ranked duties, qualifications and experience and of
corresponding titles and pay scale than of functional office in a
particular organization.

As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank
of colonel became adopted by nearly every nation (albeit under a
variety of names).

With the rise of communism, some of the large communist militaries saw
fit to expand the colonel rank into several grades, resulting in the
unique senior colonel rank, which was found and is still used in such
nations as China and North Korea.


 Colonel-in-chief 
==================
In many modern armies, the 'regiment' has more importance as a
ceremonial unit or a focus of members' loyalty than as an actual
battle formation. Troops tend to be deployed in 'battalions'
(commanded by a lieutenant colonel) as a more convenient size of
military unit and, as such, colonels have tended to have a higher
profile in specialist and command roles than as actual commanders of
regiments. However, in Commonwealth armies, the position of the
colonel as the figurehead of a regiment is maintained in the honorary
role of "colonel-in-chief", usually held by a member of the royal
family, the nobility, or a retired senior military officer. The
colonel-in-chief wears a colonel's uniform and encourages the members
of the regiment, but takes no active part in the actual command
structure or in any operational duties.


 Colonel of the Regiment 
=========================
The title Colonel of the Regiment (to distinguish it from the military
rank of colonel) continues to be used in the modern British Army. The
ceremonial position is often conferred on retired general officers,
brigadiers or colonels who have a close link to a particular regiment.
Non-military personnel, usually for positions within the Army Reserve
may also be appointed to the ceremonial position. When attending
functions as "Colonel of the Regiment", the titleholder wears the
regimental uniform with rank insignia of (full) colonel, regardless of
their official rank. A member of the Royal Family is known as a Royal
Colonel. A Colonel of the Regiment is expected to work closely with a
regiment and its Regimental Association.


 Colonel in individual military forces 
=======================================
The following articles deal with the rank of colonel as it is used in
various national militaries.


 North and South American equivalent ranks 
===========================================



 European equivalent ranks 
===========================

France, Estonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, United
Kingdom)

a regiment]')


Since the 16th century, the rank of regimental commander was adopted
by several Central and Eastern European armies, most notably the
forces of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Cossacks and then Muscovy.
In countries with Slavic and Baltic languages, the exact name of the
rank maintains a variety of spellings, all descendant from the Old
Slavonic word 'plk' or 'polk' meaning 'unit of standing army' (see The
Tale of Igor's Campaign), and include the following:


Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Ukraine


Other countries have adopted the rank and spelling when they became
part of the Russian Empire and later Soviet Union including following:



 Arab ranks 
============
There are two common Arab ranks relevant to the English word
"colonel":


same triconsonantal root as عمود ('ʿamūd') meaning "column". Both
words come from the root ʿ-m-d, column in the sense of "pillar"
(عَمَد). This relationship is comparable to that "colonel" and
"column" are cognates with Latin 'columna' as common ancestor. In
terms of equivalence, the Arabic colonel, 'ʿamīd', is conventionally
considered to be equivalent to the Commonwealth rank of brigadier.

equivalent to the Commonwealth rank of colonel. The word 'ʿaqīd' is
linked to عقد ('ʿaqad'), meaning a contract, covenant or pact. In its
original literal meaning, 'ʿaqīd' means a man who has entered into a
contract, pact or covenant.

In addition, a non-Arab colonel is often referred to as "kūlūnīl"
(كولونيل). In the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman ranks 'miralay' and
'qaimaqam' were formerly used instead of the current Arab ranks
'ʿamīd' and 'ʿaqīd'.


 Asian equivalent ranks 
========================



 Turkish and Ottoman ranks 
===========================
The Ottomans used a rank of "column chief", which was '"kol ağa"',
from 'kol' (column in Turkish) and 'ağa' (chief in Turkish). However,
in authority, this was more equivalent to a European major. The
Ottoman army rank of "lieutenant governor" ('kaymakam') was equivalent
in authority to a European colonel. 'Kol ağa' is no longer used.

The word for a regiment, 'alay', can also mean a procession, or be
loosely translated as a column of men. 'Alay' was in the Ottoman army
rank 'miralay' ("regimental 'emir'") and the Ottoman gendarmerie rank
'alaybeyi' ("regimental 'bey'"). These Ottoman ranks were equivalent
to European brigade commanders.

The modern Turkish Army uses the rank of 'albay' as its colonel rank
(NATO rank OF-5). This is a contraction of the older Turkish word
'alaybeyi'.


 African equivalent ranks 
==========================



 Insignia of land colonels 
===========================
File:Afgn-Army-Dagarwal(Colonel).svg|Afghanistan  ('dagarwal')
File:ALB-Army-OF-5.svg|Albania  ('kolonel')
File:Australian Army OF-5.svg|Australia
File:Bangladesh-army-OF-5.svg|Bangladesh
Image:Army-BEL-OF-05.svg|Belgium
File:Bosnia_and_Herzegovina_Brigadier_Insignia.svg|Bosnia and
Herzegovina ('pukovnik')
File:Coronel-V.gif|Brazil ('coronel')
File:Rank insignia of Полковник of the Bulgarian Army.png|Bulgaria
('полковник')
Image:Cdn-Army-Col(OF-5)-2014.svg|Canada ('colonel')
File:coronelrch.jpg|Chile ('coronel')
File:PLA Colonel.svg|China ('shang xiao, 上校')
File:Rank insignia of coronel of the Colombian Army.svg|Colombia
('coronel')
File:CzArmy_2011_OF5-Plukovnik_shoulder.svg|Czech Republic
('Plukovník')
File:Rank insignia of oberst of the Royal Danish Army.svg|Denmark
('oberst')
File:Coronelwikifixed.svg|Dominican Republic
Image:Eversti kauluslaatta.svg|Finland  ('eversti')
File:Army-FRA-OF-05.svg|France
File:Georgia Army OF-6.png|Georgia (პოლკოვნიკი, 'polkovnik')
File:DH271-Oberst.png|Germany ('oberst')
Image:Army-GRE-OF-05.svg|Greece  ('syntagmatarchis')
File:Rank Army Hungary OF-05.svg|Hungary  ('ezredes')
Colonel_of_the_Indian_Army.svg|India
File:18-TNI Army-COL.svg|Indonesia
File:Sarhang_1.png|Iran  ('sarhang', سرهنگ)
Image:IE-Army-OF5.png|Ireland
IDF aluf mishne.svg|Israel
Image:IT-Army-OF5b.svg|Italy  ('colonnello')
15.SKA-COL.svg|South Korea
Image:COL-carabiniersMonaco.jpg|Monaco  ('colonel')
File:Mongolian Army-COL-parade.svg|Mongolia  ('Хурандаа')

Image:Nl-landmacht-kolonel.svg|Netherlands  ('kolonel')
File:Polkovnik-arm.png|North Macedonia (полковник, 'polkovnik')
File:Army-NOR-OF-05.svg|Norway ('oberst')
File:OF-5 Pakistan Army.svg|Pakistan
Image:Rank insignia of pułkownik of the Army of Poland.svg|Poland
('pułkownik')
Image:18 - Coronel.svg|Portugal  ('coronel')
File:RO-Army-OF5.png|Romania
File:14-Serbian_Army-COL.svg|Serbia  ('pukovnik')
File:Spain-Army-OF-5.svg|Spain ('coronel')
File:SAA-OF-5.svg|South Africa
File:Syria-Aqid.jpg|Syria  (عقيد)'
File:RAF_A_F5Col_since_2010par.svg|Soviet Union ('polkovnik /
Полковник')
File:Sri Lanka-army-OF-5.svg|Sri Lanka
File:SWE-överste.svg|Sweden (Överste)
File:ROCA-COL.jpg|Taiwan ('shang xiao')
File:Taiwan-army-OF-5.svg|Taiwan
File:RTA OF-5 (Colonel).svg|Thailand
File:Turkey-army-OF-5.svg|Turkey
File:British Army OF-5.svg|United Kingdom
File:US Army O6 (Army greens).svg|United States
File:Vietnam People's Army Colonel.jpg|Vietnam (thượng tá)


 Insignia of air force colonels 
================================
File:BE-Air Force-OF5.svg|Belgium
File:Coronel FAB V.jpg|Brazil ('coronel')
File:Canadian RCAF OF-5.svg|Canada
File:Fach cav.gif|Chile ('coronel')
File:RDAF Col.svg|Denmark ('oberst')
File:French Air Force-colonel.svg|France
File:Georgia Air Force OF-6.png|Georgia (პოლკოვნიკი, 'polkovnik')
File:Luftwaffe-271-Oberst.png|Germany ('oberst')
File:18-TNI Navy-CAPT.svg|Indonesia ('kolonel')
File:16- سرهنگ--IRIAF.png|Iran ('sarhang', سرهنگ)
File:IAF aluf mishne.svg|Israel (aluf mishne)
File:IT-Airforce-OF-5.png|Italy ('colonnello')
15.SKAF-COL.svg|South Korea
File:Nl-luchtmacht-kolonel.svg|Netherlands ('kolonel')
File:Rank insignia of pułkownik of the Air Force of Poland.svg|Poland
('pułkownik')
File:Cor t.jpg|Portugal ('coronel')
File:Cor-ea.svg|Spain ('coronel')
File:SWE-Airforce-överste.png|Sweden ('Överste')
File:Taiwan-airforce-OF-5.svg|Taiwan
File:US Air Force O6 shoulderboard.svg|United States (also space
force)
File:Vietnam People's Air Force Colonel.jpg|Vietnam ('thượng tá')
File:6-CNELAMB.png|Venezuela


 Insignia of naval infantry colonels 
=====================================
File:18-TNI Air Force-COL.svg|Indonesia
File:IDF Navy aluf mishne.png|Israel
ROKMC-OF-5.svg|South Korea
File:Taiwan-Marine-OF-5.svg|Taiwan
File:British Royal Marines OF-5.svg|United Kingdom
US Marine O6 shoulderboard vertical.svg|United States


                  Colonel as highest-ranking officer                  
======================================================================
Some military forces have a colonel as their highest-ranking officer,
with no 'general' ranks, and no superior authority (except, perhaps,
the head of state as a titular commander-in-chief) other than the
respective national government. Examples include the following
(arranged alphabetically by country name):



colspan="6"|Rank insignia for a colonel in several nations which have
no higher military rank
rowspan=2 |Iceland	colspan=2 | Monaco	rowspan=2 | Vatican City
Colonel CCP !! Colonel CSP
center	center	center	center


                     Other uses of colonel ranks                      
======================================================================
The term 'colonel' is also used as a title for auctioneers in the
United States; there are a variety of theories or folk etymologies to
explain the use of the term. One of these is the claim that during the
American Civil War goods seized by armies were sold at auction by the
colonel of the division.

Kentucky colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the
Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given
by the Governor and the Secretary of State to individuals in
recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a
community, state or the nation. The sitting governor of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky bestows the honor of a colonel's Commission,
by issuance of letters patent. Perhaps the best known Kentucky colonel
is Harland Sanders of 'Kentucky Fried Chicken' fame.

The rank of colonel is also used by some military police forces such
as Military Police (Brazil) and Military Firefighters Corps, the
Carabineros de Chile and the French National Gendarmerie. The Police
of Russia, being a paramilitary organization, also uses this rank.


File:Insignia_PM_O1.PNG|Brazil ('coronel')
File:SS.OO.6.CARAB.BLUSON.CORONEL..svg|Chile ('coronel')
File:Col_gd.svg|French Nationale Gendarmerie ('colonel')
File:Russian_police_colonel.png|Russian MVD Police ('polkovnik')


                               See also                               
======================================================================



                           Further reading                            
======================================================================

Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day.' London: Routledge.


 License 
=========
All content on Gopherpedia comes from Wikipedia, and is licensed under CC-BY-SA
License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel


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