Sub-lieutenant: Difference between revisions

In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest [[commissioned officer]] rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest [[non-commissioned officer|non-commissioned rank]], and in Spain, it is the second highest non-commissioned rank.

As a naval rank, a sub-lieutenant usually ranks below a [[lieutenant]].

In the modern Royal Navy, all [[officer cadets]] now commission as [[midshipman|midshipmen]], regardless of whether they are a graduate or a school leaver. They are subsequently promoted to sub-lieutenant one year after entering [[Britannia Royal Naval College]]. Upper Yardsmenyardsmen commission as Subsub-Lieutenantslieutenants assuming their seniority date is greater than 12 months.

In the Royal Navy, the [[Royal Australian Navy]] and the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]], the insignia of both sub-lieutenants and acting sub-lieutenants consists of one medium [[gold braid]] stripe with an [[executive curl]]. The size of this stripe should not be confused with the narrow stripe, colloquially referred to as "spaghetti strap,", used on the [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] rank of [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] and the [[Royal Canadian Navy]]'s [[Officer Cadet|naval cadets]]. The Royal Air Force also followed this example of braiding when developing their rank system (see [[flying officer]]).

File:Generic-Navy-2.svg|SubActing sub-lieutenant<br />{{small|({{lang-fr|Enseigne de vaisseau de 1re2e classe}})}}<br />([[Royal Canadian Navy]])<ref name="Canada">{{cite web |title=Ranks and appointment |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/military-identity-system/rank-appointment-insignia.html |website=canada.ca |date=23 November 2017 |publisher=[[Government of Canada]] |access-date=28 May 2021}}</ref>

In 1955, the Royal Navy created the rank of [[Acting (rank)|acting]] sub-lieutenant, although it had existed intermittently in the world wars. Unlike their substantive counterparts, acting sub-lieutenants are [[subordinate officer]]s, as they hold their ranks by order and not by commission. Upon passing [[Fleetfleet Boardboard]], acting sub-lieutenants were confirmed as sub-lieutenants and issued commissions backdated to the date when they were appointed acting sub-lieutenants. The rank of acting sub-lieutenant was abolished in the Royal Navy around 1993 but remained in the [[Royal Naval Reserve]] until 2013; officers in both the RN and RNR now commission into the rank of [[Midshipmanmidshipman]].<ref name=RNBR3Ch102>{{cite web |title=BR3, Ch102 – Maritime Reserves Personnel Management |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/~/media/royal%20navy%20responsive/documents/reference%20library/br%203/br3book/ch102.pdf |website=Royal Navy Books of Reference |publisher=[[Royal Navy]] |access-date=31 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094007/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/~/media/royal%20navy%20responsive/documents/reference%20library/br%203/br3book/ch102.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The rank of Actingacting Subsub-lieutenant remains in the Royal Navy only within the [[University Royal Naval Unit]] where Trainingtraining Officersofficers enter at this rank.<ref name=RNBR3Ch110>{{cite web |title=BR3, Ch 110 – The University Royal Naval Units and Cadet Forces |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/~/media/royal%20navy%20responsive/documents/reference%20library/br%203/br3book/ch110.pdf|website=Royal Navy Books of Reference |publisher=[[Royal Navy]] |access-date=31 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824011951/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/~/media/royal%20navy%20responsive/documents/reference%20library/br%203/br3book/ch110.pdf |archive-date=24 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In many Commonwealth navies (e.g. Canada and Australia), the rank of acting sub-lieutenant still exists as a commissioned rank equivalent to second lieutenant, while the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to that of an army lieutenant. As the term "[[Acting (rank)|acting]]" is a designation, both acting and substantive ranks should be addressed as "sub-lieutenant"; the full designation including "acting" should be used in written documents, however. Indeed, when someone is addressed as "Actingacting sub-lieutenant", it can be seen as a way of patronising an individual in a derogatory manner due to the emphasis of their "acting" rank.

The [[Royal New Zealand Navy]], [[Republic of Fiji Navy]] and [[South African Navy]] follows the US precedent in titling its lowest commissioned officer [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]].