New Zealand military ranks

New Zealand military ranks are largely based on those of the United Kingdom. The three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) have their own rank structure, with a rank equivalency that allows seamless interoperability between the services. All three services form part of the New Zealand Defence Force.

Commissioned officer ranks

Navy	Army	Air Force	Notes
Admiral of the Fleet	Field Marshal	Marshal of the Air Force	King Charles III is the only current Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the RNZAF.
Vice admiral (VADM)	Lieutenant general (LTGEN)	Air marshal (AM)	Rank held by the current Chief of Defence Force; therefore only one of the services will have this rank at any one time. It is the highest obtainable rank of New Zealand Defence Force personnel.
Rear admiral (RADM)	Major general (MAJGEN)	Air vice-marshal (AVM)	Held by the Vice Chief of Defence Force, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, and the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force. Other individuals holding this rank would be in specialised (United Nations or other coalition) postings.
Commodore (CDRE)	Brigadier (BRIG)	Air commodore (AIRCDRE)
Captain (CAPT)	Colonel (COL) (Chaplain Class I)	Group captain (GPCAPT) (Chaplain Class I)
Commander (CDR)	Lieutenant colonel (LTCOL) (Chaplain Class II)	Wing commander (WGCDR) (Chaplain Class II)
Lieutenant commander (LT CDR)	Major (MAJ) (Chaplain Class III)	Squadron leader (SQNLDR) (Chaplain Class III)
Lieutenant (LT)	Captain (CAPT) (Chaplain Class IV)	Flight lieutenant (FLTLT) (Chaplain Class IV)
Sub lieutenant (SLT)	Lieutenant (LT)	Flying officer (FGOFF)
Ensign (ENS)	Second lieutenant (2LT)	Pilot officer (PLTOFF)	The Army and Air Force’s first recognised commissioned rank.
Midshipman (MID)	Officer cadet (OCDT)	Officer cadet (OCDT)	The rank of Midshipman is recognised as a commissioned rank, however, the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army and Air Force is not, and is used only for the purposes of training.

Notes: Unlike other nations, Lieutenant is pronounced “left-tenant”

Rank insignia

The rank insignia of Commissioned Officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Royal New Zealand Navy
	Admiral of the fleet				Vice admiral		Rear admiral		Commodore		Captain		Commander		Lieutenant commander		Lieutenant		Sub lieutenant			Ensign
New Zealand Army
	Field marshal				Lieutenant-general		Major-general		Brigadier		Colonel		Lieutenant-colonel		Major		Captain		Lieutenant			Second lieutenant
Royal New Zealand Air Force
	Marshal of the RNZAF				Air marshal		Air vice-marshal		Air commodore		Group captain		Wing commander		Squadron leader		Flight lieutenant		Flying officer			Pilot officer
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers

Student officer ranks

Rank group	Student officer
Royal New Zealand Navy
	Midshipman
Royal New Zealand Air Force
	Officer cadet

Non-commissioned personnel

Navy	Army	Air force	Notes
Warrant Officer (WO)	Warrant Officer Class One (WO1)	Warrant Officer (W/O)	The Warrant Officer of the Navy (WON), Sergeant Major of The Army (SMA), Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOAF), Warrant Officer Defence Force (WODF), And Army Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) hold this rank.
	Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2)		Company Sergeant Majors (CSMs), and Battery Sergeant Majors (BSMs) hold this rank. The Air Force and Navy have no Equivalent to this rank. The Air Force did have an equivalent up until it was phased out sometime during the 80s/90s.
Chief Petty Officer (CPO)	Staff Sergeant (SSGT)	Flight Sergeant (F/S)
Petty Officer (PO)	Sergeant (SGT)	Sergeant (SGT)
Leading Hand (LDH)	Bombardier/Corporal (BDR/CPL)	Corporal (CPL)	Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Bombardier (BDR) in place of Corporal.
	Lance Bombardier/Lance Corporal (LBDR/LCPL)		Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Lance Bombardier (L/BDR) in place of Lance Corporal
Able rate (ABR)		Leading Aircraftman (LAC)	Able's and LAC's are not considered NCO's and these ranks are normally awarded after completing trade training.
Ordinary rate (ORT)	Gunner (GNR) / Trooper (TPR) / Sapper (SPR) / Signaller (SIG) / Private (PTE) / Craftsman RNZEME	Aircraftman (AC)	In the Army, an individual's trade title is sometimes interchanged with the rank of Private.

Note: Naval other rank personnel are referred to by both their rank and trade. Thus a sailor employed as a chef would generally hold the rank of ordinary chef (OCH), with a few exceptions. A Warrant Officer with a trade of weapon technician would hold the rank of Warrant Officer Weapon Technician (WOWT).

Rank insignia

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Royal New Zealand Navy
	Warrant officer								Chief petty officer		Petty officer												Leading hand						Able rate						Ordinary rate
New Zealand Army																																			No insignia
	Warrant officer class 1						Warrant officer class 2		Staff sergeant		Sergeant												Corporal				Lance corporal								Private (or equivalent)
Royal New Zealand Air Force
	Warrant Officer								Flight Sergeant		Sergeant												Corporal						Leading Aircraftman						Aircraftman
Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted

Definitions

Non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer is defined as:

"(a) In relation to the navy, a rating of warrant officer, chief petty officer, petty officer, or leading rank; and includes—

(i) A non-commissioned officer of the army or the air force attached to the navy; and

(ii) A person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the navy:

(b) In relation to the army, a soldier above the rank of private but below the rank of officer cadet; and includes a warrant officer; and also includes—

(i) A non-commissioned officer of the navy or the air force attached to the army; and

(ii) A person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the army:

(c) In relation to the air force, an airman above the rank of leading aircraftman but below the rank of officer cadet; and includes a warrant officer; and also includes—

(i) A non-commissioned officer of the navy or the army attached to the air force; and

(ii) A person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the air force:" — Defence Act 1990, Sect 2 (Interpretation)

Commissioned officers

Officers of the New Zealand Defence Force are commissioned by the Governor-General of New Zealand on behalf of the monarch of New Zealand, King Charles III. See also Officer (armed forces). Salutes rendered to officers by junior officers and enlisted personnel are indirect salutes to the monarch, based on the officer holding the monarch's authority.

Higher flag ranks and ceremonial ranks

Further information: Monarchy in New Zealand

Appointments to the most senior ranks (those above the rank held by the chief of the defence force, usually lieutenant general or equivalent) are ceremonial, for the head of state and members of the royal family.

External links

• "New Zealand rank insignia" (PDF). Defence Force website.
• "New Commander Joint Forces". Defence Force website.
• "Army today" (PDF). army.mil.nz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2022.