Ranks and insignia of Royal Danish Army

The Ranks and insignia of Royal Danish Army follows the NATO system of ranks and insignia, as does the rest of the Danish Defence.

Current ranks

The current insignia for the Royal Danish Army was introduced along with the introduction of the MultiCam uniform. This sand coloured insignia replaced the older standard green slip-on and all other special slip-ons.[1]

Officers

The highest officer's rank is OF-9 (General) which is reserved for the Chief of Defence (only when this seat is occupied by an army officer). Similarly, OF-8 (Lieutenant general) is reserved for the Vice Chief of Defence). OF-7 (Major general) is used by the Chief of the Royal Danish Army and OF-6 (Brigadegeneral) by the chief of a brigade as well as keepers of high-office positions.

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D)						Student officer
Denmark (Edit)	No equivalent																														No equivalent
			General		Generalløjtnant		Generalmajor		Brigadegeneral		Oberst		Oberstløjtnant		Major		Kaptajn		Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant			Sekondløjtnant
Danish Pay Grade[2]			M406		M405		M404		M403		M402		M401		M332 M331 M322		M321		M312			M311			M310

Medical personnel

Insignia used by physicians, dentists and veterinarians.[3]

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D)						Student officer
Shoulder straps	No equivalent
Position									Surgeon general		Staff physician 1st class Staff veterinarian		Staff physician 2nd class Staff veterinarian		Chief Physician	Staff Specialist	Resident 1st class		Resident 2nd class			Resident 3rd class
Rank designation									Brigadegeneral		Oberst		Oberstløjtnant		Major		Kaptajn		Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant

Enlisted

The Danish OR's also follow the NATO system, though there are no OR-6's. OR-4 (Korporal) is the highest of the M100-level ranks and is not considered a NCO-rank.

NATO Code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Denmark (Edit)											No equivalent
	Hærchefsergenten			Chefsergent			Seniorsergent		Oversergent								Sergent			Officerselev Sergent			Korporal				Overkonstabel af 1. grad		Overkonstabel						Konstabel
Danish Pay Grade[2]	M232						M231		M221								M212			M211			M113				M112

Other rank insignia
NATO Code	OR-9	OR-8	OR-5	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1
Shoulder board
Danish	Regiments-, brigade- og skole Chefsergent	Regiments- og brigade-, Seniorsergent	Sergentelev	Overkonstabel 1. grad, gruppefører	Overkonstabel, gruppefører	Konstabel, gruppefører	Konstabel elev	Værnepligtig menig, gruppefører
English	Command sergeant major	Command sergeant major	Sergeant trainee	Lance corporal, section commander	Private first class, section commander	Private, section commander	Private recruit	Conscript, section commander

Clerical personnel

• Clerical personnel
• 
  Army Dean
• 
  Army Chaplain
• 
  Army Conscript Chaplain

Types of ranks

Rank	NATO	Rank insignia
		M/58	M/69	TAN499	M/06		M/11
					Woodland	Desert
Chefsergent	OR-9

Historical ranks

Army insignia from around 1911

Rank insignia of army uniform model 1923.

• Historical ranks insignia
• 
  Chief of Defence insignia between 1984-85[4]
• 
  Seniorsergent af 1. grad
  (Warrant Officer Class 1)
• 
  Seniorsergent af 2. grad
  (Warrant Officer Class 2)
• 
  Oversergent
  (Sergeant first class)
• 
  Værnepligtig Korporal
  (Conscripted corporal)

Timeline of change

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D)						Student officer
1915-1923 [5][6]	No equivalent								No equivalent						No equivalent
			General		Generalløjtnant		Generalmajor				Oberst		Oberstløjtnant				Kaptajn		Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant af Reserven			Sekondløjtnant
1923-1958 [7]
			General		Generalløjtnant		Generalmajor				Oberst		Oberstløjtnant				Kaptajn	Kaptajnløjtnant	Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant af Reserven			Sekondløjtnant
1958-1962 [8]
			General		Generalløjtnant		Generalmajor				Oberst		Oberstløjtnant				Kaptajn	Kaptajnløjtnant	Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant af Reserven			Sekondløjtnant
1962-1983
			General		Generalløjtnant		Generalmajor				Oberst		Oberstløjtnant		Major		Kaptajn		Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant af Reserven			Sekondløjtnant
1983-1986
1986-1989 [9]																									No equivalent
1989-2009
2009-2018
2018-present
			General		Generalløjtnant		Generalmajor		Brigadegeneral		Oberst		Oberstløjtnant		Major		Kaptajn		Premierløjtnant			Løjtnant			Sekondløjtnant

References

1. Hærchefsergent (July 2018). "Gradstegn og anden distinktionering". Uniformsbestemmelser for hæren (UBH) Jul 2018 (in Danish).
2. "Historik". forpers.dk (in Danish). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
3. Hærchefsergent (July 2018). "Gradstegn og anden distinktionering". Uniformsbestemmelser for hæren (UBH) Jul 2018 (in Danish). p. 17.
4. Hedegaard, Ole A. (1 January 1986). "Nyt militært gradstegn - en ny/gammel tradition!". Krigsvidenskab.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 28 August 2018.
5. Finsted, Per. "Supplement til Danske Uniformer for Hær og Flaade, 1916". chakoten.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 24 October 2018.
6. "Royal Danish Army - 1915 field uniform". Retrieved 1 November 2018.
7. Hillmos, Finn. "Hærens gradstegn 1923" (PDF). chakoten.dk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
8. "Kaptajn". Den Danske Ordbog (in Danish). Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
9. "Sekondløjtnant". Den Danske Ordbog. Retrieved 26 September 2018.

• Badges of Rank for the Royal Danish Army, 2018
• Badges of Rank for the Royal Danish Army, 2018 (in Danish)