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Editing Military Ranks (RDM)

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{{disline|For the rank structure of the [[Original Series]] and [[1980]], see [[Military Ranks (TOS)]] and [[Military Ranks (1980)]]}}
This rank structure for the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]] is derived from the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]] [[Military Ranks (TOS)|ranks]] as mentioned in [[Ronald D. Moore]]'s blog.


__TOC__
== Rank equivalences ==
== Rank table ==


This table was originally based on an older blog entry by [[Ronald D. Moore]] posted in 2005, in which he replies to a question about the show's rank structure (see ''[[#Official Statements|Official Statements]]'' below). It has been expanded and altered since that time to include additional ranks that have been established since then (lieutenant colonel, rear admiral) and heavily supplemented by sources close to the show as well as a recently released rank pin chart. It should be noted that some of the ranks on the pin chart are listed differently elsewhere on this page for practical reasons.  In some cases this is done because the rank given on the pin chart is assumed to represent a position rather than a specific rank (i.e. the only reference to term senior chief on screen (in "[[Blood on the Scales]]") appears to use it as a position rather than a rank, since only Tyrol holds the position of senior chief but both he and Peter Laird are chief petty officers) or because the the rank on the pin chart is consistently referred to differently on screen (i.e. crew specialist has always been referred to as specialist).
These ranks have been speculatively expanded in order to provide a ''rough'' rank equivalence with the United States Navy. Many aspects of the following table are speculative.


The ranks are a mix of naval and marine ranks inherited from the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]], but mirror naval practices in execution and are elaborated during the series both on-screen and in production notes. It is possible to create a rough equivalence to real world armed forces. However, while the [[Colonial Fleet (TRS)|Colonial Fleet]] has many parallels with modern armed forces it is a fictional organization and diverges from reality in certain places, for example in the duties of commanders and admirals, or the place of the [[CAG]] within the ship's hierarchy.
The following table exists mainly to improve understanding of Colonial ranks for those familiar with the US military and similarly structured organizations. However, while the [[Colonial Fleet (RDM)|Colonial Fleet]] has many parallels with modern armed forces, it also diverges from them in certain places, for example in the duties of commanders and admirals, or the place of the [[CAG]] within the ship's hierarchy. Therefore, the emphasis is on placing the ranks in their most appropriate place within the ''Battlestar Galactica'' universe, which is why they don't necessarily match perfectly with modern ranks.
   
   
The officer ranks of the [[Colonial Marine Corps]] (CMC) have yet to be established on screen (with the exception of lieutenant) or by official sources and thus are not listed here. The Marine Corps's enlisted ranks largely mirror real world ranks. <ref name="sfc"/>
The officer ranks of the [[Colonial Marine Corps]] have yet to be established on screen or by official sources and thus are not listed here (''see [[#Official Statements|Official Statements]]''). The Marine Corps's enlisted ranks seen so far mirror real world ranks.
 


{| class="messagebox" style="width:100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" align="center"
{| class="messagebox" style="width:100%" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" align="center"
|- class="infoboxheader"
|- class="infoboxheader"
! style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''COLONIAL FLEET RANK'''  
! style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''COLONIAL FLEET RANK'''  
! style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''COLONIAL MARINE CORPS RANK'''  
! style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''COLONIAL MARINE RANK'''
| style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''APPROXIMATE US NAVAL RANK'''  
! style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''EXAMPLE'''
! style="font-size:100%;" align="left" valign="middle" | '''EXAMPLE'''
|-
|-
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''FLAG OFFICER'''
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''FLAG OFFICER'''
|-
|-
| Admiral <ref name="adm">'''Admiral''': [[Peter Corman]] wears the same admiral insignia as Adama and Cain, but with thick gold piping on his duty uniform. This raises the question of how a rear admiral can be distinguished from a full admiral in dress uniform, given that dress uniforms have no colored piping. It can be speculated that, as has been the case with the ranks of ensign and junior lieutenant, the production crew uses the same insignia for both admiral ranks, as only one type of admiral pin has been made for the show. It would normally be expected that different admiral grades would be distinguished by the number of gold bars (for example one set for a rear admiral, etc).</ref>||
| Admiral
| [[Nagala]], [[Peter Corman]]
|
| Admiral
| [[Nagala]], [[Corman]] <ref name="adm">'''Admiral''': Corman wears the same admiral insignia as Adama and Cain, but has thick gold piping on his work uniform. Given that all other ranks have unique rank insignia, that all senior officer ranks have unique work uniform piping, and that there is no way to tell apart a Rear Admiral from a full Admiral when in dress uniforms (dress uniforms have no piping) it can be speculated that, as has been the case with the ranks of Ensign and Lieutenant Junior Grade, the producers simply decided to use the same insignia for both types of Admiral to reduce prop costs since they will probably never have a Rear Admiral and a full Admiral in dress uniforms in the same shot.  This would explain why a Commander has a set of silver bars while both admiral ranks have a set of silver bars and two sets of gold bars. It is likely that in reality Rear Admirals would only have one set of gold bars and that only full admirals would have two.</ref>
|-
|-
| None
|
| Vice Admiral
|
|-
| Rear Admiral <ref name="ra">'''Rear Admiral''':
| Rear Admiral <ref name="ra">'''Rear Admiral''':
*In the [[Pegasus (Extended Version)|extended version]] of the episode "Pegasus," Adama states "Fleet promoted her to rear admiral over half of the commanders on the list.," thus establishing this rank.
*In the [[Pegasus (Extended Version)|Extended Version]] of the episode "Pegasus", Adama states "Fleet promoted her to rear admiral over half of the commanders on the list." This could also indicate that commander is not a flag rank in the BSG universe, however it is more likely that this simply indicates that the Pegasus is the flagship of the group and is commanded by a Rear Admiral.  It's possible that if the fleet was under the command of a Commander (for example if the Admiral died and nobody was promoted to Admiral to replace him or her), that a single star would be shown on Dradis, and likewise if a full Admiral was commanding a battlestar group (for example when Admiral Nagala took personal command of the fleet aboard Battlestar Atlantia following the destruction of Picon Fleet Headquarters in the mini-series), that three stars would be shown.
*When Adama is promoted to admiral in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]" his new rank insignia are identical to Cain's.
*A [[:Image:GalPegDradis.JPG|screen capture]] of ''Galactica'''s Dradis shows two stars next to ''Pegasus''. It is speculated that this denotes [[Helena Cain|Cain]] as a two-star admiral.
*Cain seems to command both her battlestar and its [[Battlestar Group]]. In modern practice, a captain (the real-world rank most similar to the colonial rank of commander) commands only the ship, while an admiral is in charge of the Carrier Strike Group and is often on the same ship as a captain.
*When Adama is promoted to admiral in "[[Resurrection Ship, Part II]]" his new rank insignia are identical to Cain's. They also have two gold bars on the sides, which could be similar to today's two stars of a rear admiral, upper half.
*While Cain wears a regular rear admiral's duty uniform with gold-over-silver piping, Adama continues to wear his commander's duty uniform with red-over-gold piping after his promotion to admiral. From a production point of view, this was most likely done so that the crew didn't have to create a new set of uniforms for the actor, but can be explained in-universe by a lack of male admiral uniforms in the Fleet's stores following the attack on the Twelve Colonies.  Similarly, Hoshi also wears his lieutenant's duty uniform with one line of solid white pipping after his promotion to admiral.
*Cain seems to command both her battlestar and its [[Battlestar Group]]. In modern practice, a captain commands only the ship, while a rear admiral is in charge of the Carrier Strike Group.
*While Cain wears the traditional Rear Admiral work uniform with gold piping over silver piping, Adama continues to wear his Commander work uniform with red piping over gold piping after his promotion to admiral. This was most likely done so that the producers didn't have to create a new set of uniforms for him, but could be explained within the plot line as simply being a neccessity caused by the inavailability of Rear Admiral work uniforms on Galactica following the attacks on the colonies.
</ref>
</ref>
|
|  
| [[Helena Cain]], [[William Adama]] (Season 2.5+), [[Louis Hoshi]] {{TRS|Daybreak, Part II}} ||
| Rear Admiral (upper, lower half)
| [[Helena Cain]], [[William Adama]] (Season 2.5+)
 
|-
|-
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''SENIOR COMMISSIONED OFFICER'''
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''COMMISSIONED OFFICER'''
|-
|-
| Commander ||
| Commander <ref name="commander">'''Commander:'''  
| William Adama (Miniseries-Season 2.5), [[Barry Garner]] (Season 2.5), [[Jack Fisk]] (Season 2.5), {{callsign|Lee Adama}} (breveted, Season 2.5-Season 3.0), [[Felix Gaeta]] (unofficially, during mutiny in "[[Blood on the Scales]]")
*The rank of commander is somewhat unclear and also encompasses duties of both modern admirals and captains. The best indications point to it being an intermediate rank between that of Captain and Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy. The term "Battlestar Group" in the BSG universe has two different meanings. Formally, a Battlestar Group consists of multiple battlestars and are generally under the overall command of a Rear Admiral, these are the battlestar groups referred to by the BSG numbers at the bottom of each battlestar's seal. However, the term can also be used to describe a single battlestar and it's support ships when said battlestar is operating on it's own.  In this case the whole group is generally under the command of a Commander who also commands the group's battlestar. Thus the difference between a U.S. Navy Captain, a Colonial Commander and a Rear Admiral is that a U.S. Navy Captain's command is generally limited to one ship while a Colonial Commander is in charge of a single large capital ship (a battlestar) as well as any support vessels that accompany it and a Rear Admiral commands multiple large capital warships.
|-
*It is also possible that in addition to serving as XOs on battlestars, officer's with the rank of Colonel may also command smaller support vessels attached to battlestars.  That would explain why a Colonel is considered a senior officer while a Major is not even though battlestar XOs tend to be assigned as Majors and then promoted to Colonel only after completion of their first tour of duty as an XO.  This justifies equating the rank of Colonel in the Colonial Fleet with that of Captain in the U.S. Navy.
| Colonel  ||
</ref>
| [[Saul Tigh]], [[Jurgen Belzen]]
|  
|-
| None
| Lieutenant Colonel <ref name="LtCol">'''Lieutenant Colonel''':
| [[William Adama]] (Miniseries-Season 2.5), [[Jack Fisk]] (Season 2.5), [[Barry Garner]] (Season 2.5), [[Lee Adama]] (Season 2.5-Season 3.0)
*This information [[Sources:Jack Fisk|comes from production materials]], which note [[Jack Fisk]]'s rank as lieutenant colonel in the portions of "[[Razor]]" before [[Jurgen Belzen]] is executed. Fisk wears different rank insignia from the normal colonel insignia, as seen [[:Image:Fisk LtCol insignia 1.jpg|here]] and [[:Image:Fisk LtCol pin 2.jpg|here]].  
*These devices have been previously used for [[Anastasia Dualla|Dualla]] in "[[Lay Down Your Burdens, Part II]]," but she is identified as a lieutenant in dialog. Insiders have indicated that Dualla's use of the lieutenant colonel insignia was a costuming error/necessity, that was necessitated during her first appearances after becoming an officer because there weren't enough junior lieutenant devices to go around. It has also been noticed that other characters including Chief Tyrol have used them from time to time for the same reason.
*Fisk's uniform piping as a lieutenant colonel is the same red-over-white as on a full colonel's uniform. Given that he is the only person ever even referred to as holding that rank, it is likely safe to assume that lieutenant colonel and colonel share the same colors. This is unusual in that all other senior officers' uniforms have distinctive piping, but can be explained by their potentially similar duties. However, this may - like the use of some rank devices - be a production necessity: It was far easier to use the actor's existing uniform than create a new one (Fisk's first appearance took place within the show's timeline after he had already been promoted to full colonel as Razor was filmed in between that season and the following one.</ref> ||
| Jack Fisk ("[[Razor]]")
|-
|-
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''JUNIOR COMMISSIONED OFFICER'''
| Colonel
|  
| Captain
| [[Saul Tigh]], [[Jack Fisk]], [[Jurgen Belzen]]
|-
|-
| Major ||
| Major
| [[Jackson Spencer]], [[Sherman Cottle]], [[Kendra Shaw]] <ref name="Major">After her promotion to major in "[[Razor]]," Shaw wears a colonel's red-over-white piping instead of the normal simple white piping normally worn by all junior officer ranks.  This may have been an intentional decision to denote her position as ''Pegasus''{{'|s}} XO, or just a costuming error.</ref>, Lee Adama (Season 2.5+)
|  
| Commander
| [[Jackson Spencer]], [[Cottle|Doctor Cottle]], [[Kendra Shaw]], [[Lee Adama]] (Season 3+)
|-
|-
| Captain ||
| Captain
| Lee Adama (Miniseries-Season 2.5), {{callsign|Starbuck}} (Season 2.5+), [[Aaron Kelly]], {{callsign|Karl Agathon}} (Season 3+)
|  
| Lieutenant Commander
| [[Lee Adama]] (Miniseries-Season 2.5), [[Kara Thrace]] (Season 2.5+), [[Aaron Kelly]], [[Karl Agathon]] (Season 3+)
|-
|-
| Lieutenant ||
| Lieutenant
| Kara Thrace (Miniseries-Season 2.5), Karl Agathon (Miniseries-Season 2)<ref name="helo">Agathon states his rank as "lieutenant junior grade" in "[[33]]," but he consistently wears the rank insignia of a full lieutenant.</ref>, [[Louanne Katraine]] (Season 1-2)
|  
| Lieutenant
| [[Kara Thrace]] (Miniseries-Season 2.5), [[Karl Agathon]] (Season 1-2)<ref name="helo"> Helo states his rank as "lieutenant, junior grade" in "[[33]]", but he consistently wears the rank insignia of a lieutenant.</ref>, [[Terry Burrell]]<ref>Burrell is a marine lieutenant, but where that aligns with fleet rank is indeterminate (see Official Statements)</ref> ([[Marines|CMC]])
|-
|-
| Junior Lieutenant <ref>'''Junior Lieutenant''': 
| Lieutenant Junior Grade <ref>The rank of lieutenant, junior grade is sometimes written as "junior lieutenant" (or JRLT in short). For example on Boomer's [[:Image:Boomer Raptor.JPG|Raptor nameplate]] in the [[Miniseries]], and Kara Thrace's disciplinary records in "[[The Son Also Rises]]".</ref>
*The term "junior lieutenant" (or JRLT in short) is used in props and behind the scenes documentation. For example on Boomer's [[:Image:Boomer Raptor.JPG|Raptor nameplate]] in the [[Miniseries]] and Kara Thrace's disciplinary records in "[[The Son Also Rises]]". Although "lieutenant, junior grade" has also been used in dialogue a few times, for example by Karl Agathon in "[[33]]," the vast majority of on-screen references and behind-the-scenes documentation use the term "junior lieutenant," and is thus the term preferred by Battlestar Wiki.
|  
*While Ron Moore's blog entry from a couple seasons ago (see "Official Statements" below) uses the term "lieutenant junior grade," it should also be pointed out that other differences between the blog entry and the actual terminology and structure have been definitively proven since that entry was written.  </ref> ||
| Lieutenant Junior Grade
| [[Sharon Valerii]], {{callsign|Athena}}, [[Felix Gaeta]], [[Anastasia Dualla]] (Season 2+)
| [[Sharon Valerii]], [[Felix Gaeta]], [[Louanne Katraine]] (Season 1-2)
|-
|-
| Ensign ||
| Ensign
| [[Davis]], [[Diana Seelix]] (Season 3+), [[Samuel Anders]] (Season 4)
|  
|-
| Ensign
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''WARRANT OFFICER'''
| [[Davis]], [[Diana Seelix]] (Season 3+)
|-
| Warrant Officer <ref name="warrant">'''Warrant officer''': Although to-date it has not been referenced in spoken dialogue, the rank of warrant officer is included in costuming notes, and is worn on-screen by background extras.  It's existance is further supported by the uses of white uniforms by many background extras which are unique from the standard enlisted and commissioned officer uniforms.</ref> ||
| Various background extras (Season 2+)
|-
|-
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''SENIOR ENLISTED (NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER)'''
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''SENIOR ENLISTED (NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER)'''
|-
|-
| Master Chief Petty Officer || Sergeant Major
| Master Chief Petty Officer || Sergeant Major
| [[Socrata Thrace]] (CMC, retired)
| Master Chief Petty Officer
| [[Socrata Thrace]] ([[Marines|CMC]], retired)
|-
|-
| Chief Petty Officer || Gunnery Sergeant
| Chief Petty Officer || Gunnery Sergeant
| [[Galen Tyrol]] (Miniseries-Season 4), [[Erin Mathias]] (CMC), [[Peter Laird]]
| Chief Petty Officer
| [[Galen Tyrol]] (Miniseries-Season 4), [[Erin Mathias]] ([[Marines|CMC]])
|-
|-
| Petty Officer 1st Class || Sergeant First Class <ref name="sfc">'''Sergeant First Class''':
| Petty Officer 1st Class || Staff Sergeant
*Unlike the other CMC enlisted ranks, this is not a US Marine Corps rank but the US Army equivalent to gunnery sergeant.
| Petty Officer 1st Class
*In "[[Litmus]]" Sergeant [[Hadrian]] wears insignia listed here as petty officer 1st class. The term sergeant first class is never used on screen. However, behind the scenes documents list the Marine rank associated with the single chevron on green background worn by Hadrian (and shared with the rank of petty officer first class) as sergeant first class.</ref>
| [[Hadrian|Hadrian]] ([[Marines|CMC]]) <ref name="hadrian"> In "[[Litmus]]" Sergeant [[Hadrian]] wears insignia listed here as 'petty officer, 1st class'. While she is a [[Marines|Marine]], it is possible that some rank insignia are used in both services. <br/>Her rank is assumed to be 'staff sergeant' which equates to 'petty officer, 1st class'. Placing her one rank lower or higher would create a conflict with the established insignia of 'petty officer, 2nd class' and 'chief petty officer' respectively.</ref>
| [[Hadrian]] (CMC)
|-
|-
| Petty Officer 2nd Class || Crew Sergeant
| Petty Officer 2nd Class || Sergeant
| [[Anastasia Dualla]] (Miniseries-Season 2), [[Cally Henderson]] (Season 3-4), [[Donald Perry]] (Season 1)
| Petty Officer 2nd Class
| [[Anastasia Dualla]] (Miniseries-Season 2), [[Cally Henderson]] (Season 3+)
|-
|-
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''JUNIOR ENLISTED'''
| class="infoboxheader" colspan="3" align=center style="font-size:95%;" | '''JUNIOR ENLISTED'''
|-
|-
| Specialist <ref>'''Specialist''': The end credits for "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]" and "[[Revelations]]" list [[Anthony Figurski]] as specialist, 3rd class. Furthermore the rank of specialist, 2nd class was mentioned by writer [[Bradley Thompson]] in the [[Battlestar_Wiki:Official_Communiques/Archive7#Chief_Tyrol_.26_his_.27Knuckledragger_Crew.27.2C_Will_we_see_more.3F|Official Communiques]]. This indicates that there are three subdivisions for this rank which are used in the scripts. However, these ranks have not been used in dialogue yet and only a single rank insignia for specialists has been established so far.</ref> || Corporal <ref name="corporal">'''Lance Corporal''':  The rank of lance corporal is introduced in "[[The Oath]]" with Eduardo Maldonado, however, no insignia is ever shown, and the new pin chart doesn't seem to have a separate rank device for it, it's unclear whether this is a mistake on the part of the writing staff or whether it is intended to be a separate rank.</ref>
| Crewman Specialist<ref>The end credits for "[[Flight of the Phoenix]]" and "[[Revelations]]" list [[Anthony Figurski]] as "specialist, 3rd class". This indicates that there are three subdivisions for this rank. However, the exact rank of other specialists is unclear. Furthermore, only a single rank insignia for specialist has been established so far.</ref> || Corporal
| Cally Henderson (Miniseries-Season 3), [[Socinus]], [[Prosna]], [[Venner]] (CMC), Galen Tyrol (Season 4)
| Seaman
| [[Cally Henderson]] (Miniseries-Season 3), [[Socinus]], [[Prosna]], [[Venner]] ([[Marines|CMC]])
|-
|-
| Crewman <ref name="crewman">'''Crewman''': Many sources, including Ron Moore's blog, refer to this rank as "deckhand." However, more recent internal documents reveal the rank to be "crewman."</ref> || Private First Class
| Deckhand || Private First Class
| [[Scott Kelso]] (CMC), [[Stewart Jaffee]] (CMC)
| Seaman Apprentice
| [[Scott Kelso]] ([[Marines|CMC]])
|-
|-
| Crewman Apprentice || Private
| Recruit || Private
| [[Sykes]] (CMC)
| Seaman Recruit
| [[Sykes]], [[Stewart Jaffee]] (both [[Marines|CMC]])
|-
|-
|}
|}
=== Note ===
The main premise behind this table is that there is enough circumstantial evidence to equate the rank of commander with captain, and leave rear admiral as such (see footnotes), albeit combining the American split in lower and upper halves. Additionally, the ''Battlestar Galactica'' ranks should be equated with ranks that come close to their role in the series. It is also desirable to oppose the ranks of ensign to lieutenant one to one. While one could devise a structure that provides a direct equivalence of each rank with a real world counterpart, it should be kept in mind that the Colonial Fleet is a fictional organization and works similar to but not identical to real world navies. The above table was felt to be a reasonable compromise between documenting the ''Battlestar Galactica'' universe by itself and analyzing its rank structure in a real world context.


==Insignia==
==Insignia==
Line 101: Line 123:
{| class="messagebox" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"
{| class="messagebox" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"
|-
|-
| colspan="5" class="infoboxheader" | '''Senior Commissioned Officer'''
| colspan="4" class="infoboxheader" | '''Senior Officers'''
|-
|-
| [[File:NBSG-AdmiralPin1.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-AdmiralPin1.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-AdmiralPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-AdmiralPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-CommanderPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-CommanderPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-ColonelPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-ColonelPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-LtColonelPin.jpg]]
|
|-
|-
| '''Admiral''' <ref name="adm"/>
| '''Admiral'''     <ref name="adm"/>
| '''Rear Admiral''' <ref name="ra"/>
| '''Rear Admiral''' <ref name="ra"/>
| '''Commander'''
| '''Commander'''
| '''Colonel'''
| '''Colonel'''
| '''Lieutenant Colonel''' <ref name="LtCol"/>
|
|-
|-
| colspan="5" class="infoboxheader" | '''Junior Commissioned Officer'''
| colspan="4" class="infoboxheader" | '''Junior Officers'''
|-
|-
| [[File:NBSG-MajorPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-MajorPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-CaptainPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-CaptainPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-LTsgPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-LTsgPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-LTjgPin.jpg|-]]
| [[Image:NBSG-LTjgPin.jpg|-]]
|
|
|-
|-
| '''Major <ref name="Major"/>'''
| '''Major'''
| '''Captain'''
| '''Captain'''
| '''Lieutenant'''
| '''Lieutenant'''
| '''Junior Lieutenant/<br/>Ensign'''<ref>'''Junior Lieutenant/Ensign Rank Device''':  The use of junior lieutenant insignia for the rank of ensign in episodes like "[[Scar]]" and "[[Dirty Hands]]" is a costuming necessity, as the production staff never created a separate pin for the ensign rank.</ref>
| '''Lieutenant, j.g./Ensign'''<ref>The use of the lieutenant.j.g insignia for the rank of ensign in episodes like "[[Scar]]" and "[[Dirty Hands]]" is likely just a costuming necessity. While the costuming department doesn't appear to have produced ensign insignia yet, the Colonial Military would probably use different ones to distinguish the ranks.</ref>
|-
|-
| colspan="5" class="infoboxheader" | '''Warrant Officer'''
| colspan="4" class="infoboxheader" | '''Non-Commissioned Officers'''
|-
|-
| [[File:NBSG-WOPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-CPOPin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-PO1Pin.jpg]]
| [[Image:NBSG-PO2Pin.jpg]]
|
|-
|-
| '''Warrant Officer''' <ref name="warrant"/>
| '''Chief Petty Officer'''
| '''Petty Officer, 1st Class''' <ref name="hadrian"/>
| '''Petty Officer, 2nd Class'''
|
|-
|-
| colspan="5" class="infoboxheader" | '''Senior Enlisted/Non-Commissioned Officer'''
| colspan="4" class="infoboxheader" | '''Enlisted Personnel'''
|-
|-
| [[File:NBSG-MCPOPin.JPG‎]]
| [[Image:NBSG-SpecialistPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-CPOPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-PO1Pin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-CrewSGTPin.jpg]]
|-
| '''Master Chief Petty Officer(CF)/<br/>Sergeant Major (CMC)'''<ref>'''Master Chief/Sergeant Major Rank Device''':  The rank device for master chief petty officer/sergeant major has never been worn on-screen as such, but the design is part of the civilian flight wings worn by the pilot of Colonial One.</ref>
| '''Chief Petty Officer (CF)/<br/>Gunnery Sergeant (CMC)'''
| '''Petty Officer 1st Class (CF)/<br/>Sergeant First Class (CMC)''' <ref name="sfc"/>
| '''Petty Officer 2nd Class (CF)/<br/> Crew Sergeant (CMC)'''
|
|
|-
| colspan="5" class="infoboxheader" | '''Junior Enlisted Personnel'''
|-
| [[File:NBSG-CrewSpecPin.jpg]]
| [[File:NBSG-CrewmanPin.JPG]]
| [[File:NBSG-CrewmanAppPin.jpg]]
|
|
|
|
|-
|-
| '''Crew Specialist (CF)/<br/>Corporal (CMC) <ref name="corporal"/>'''
| '''Crewman Specialist'''
| '''Crewman (CF)/<br/>Private First Class (CMC)'''
|
| '''Crewman Apprentice (CF)/<br/>Private (CMC) <ref>'''Crewman Apprentice/Private''': These insignia have not yet been shown on-screen, but are found in production materials.</ref>'''
|
|
|
|
|}
|}


These pictures were created by Jim Stevenson a.k.a. "137th Gebirg".  With more recent device created by members of the battle star wiki community using his original designs as templates.


Senior officers' ranks can also be identified by the color of the piping on their [[Uniforms (RDM)|uniforms]]. The rank for lieutenant colonel is depicted as worn by Jack Fisk in "Razor," although the same insignia has also been worn by others with the simple junior officer white piping.<ref name="LtCol"/>
These pictures were created by Jim Stevenson a.k.a. "137th Gebirg".
Insignia for the other ranks have yet to be shown on screen and thus aren't listed here.


==Production images==
Senior Officers' ranks can also be identified by the color of the piping on their [[Uniforms (RDM)|uniforms]].


<gallery caption="Senior Commissioned Officers" widths="115px" heights="103px" perrow="4">
==Additional Images==
Image:Insignia_Admiral.jpg|Admiral
 
Image:Insignia_Commander.jpg|Commander
<gallery>
Image:Insignia_Colonel.jpg|Colonel
Image:CommanderInsigniaPhoto.jpg|Commander rank pin in detail
Image:Insignia_Lieutenant_Colonel.jpg|Lieutenant Colonel
Image:CPOInsigniaPhoto.jpg|Chief Petty Officer pin in detail
</gallery>
<gallery caption="Junior Commissioned Officers" widths="115px" heights="103px" perrow="4">
Image:Insignia_Major.jpg|Major
Image:Insignia_Captain.jpg|Captain
Image:Insignia_Lieutenant.jpg|Lieutenant
Image:Insignia_Ensign.jpg|Jr. Lieutenant/<br>Ensign
</gallery>
<gallery caption="Warrant Officer" widths="115px" heights="103px" perrow="4">
Image:Insignia_Warrant_officer.jpg|Warrant Officer
</gallery>
<gallery caption="Senior Enlisted Personnel/Non-Commissioned Officers" widths="115px" heights="103px" perrow="4">
Image:Insignia_Crew_Master_Chief.jpg|Master Chief (CF)
Image:Insignia_Crew_Senior_Chief.jpg|Senior Chief  (CF)
Image:Insignia_Sergeant_First_Class.jpg|Sergeant First Class (CMC)
Image:Insignia_Sergeant.jpg|Crew Sergeant (CMC)
</gallery>
<gallery caption="Junior Enlisted Personnel" widths="115px" heights="103px" perrow="4">
Image:Insignia_Crew_Specialist.jpg| Specialist (CF)
Image:Insignia_Crewman.jpg|Crewman (CF)
Image:Insignia_Crewman_Apprentice.jpg|Crewman Apprentice (CF)
</gallery>
</gallery>


As mentioned above some of these ranks differ from that listed elsewhere on Battlestar Wiki for practicality purposes.  In addition it is important to remember that each enlisted device corresponds to two ranks: the colonial fleet version and its colonial marine corps rank equivalent.
== Official Statements ==
{{Dialogue
| context = {{from_RDM_blog}} Regarding the consistency of the Colonial Fleet's rank structure:
| lines =
'''Q:''' What is the rank structure? It doesn't seem consistant ''[sic]'' with the Navy.
'''[[Ronald D. Moore]]:''' The rank structure is derived from the original series. I didn't want to change Commander Adama to Captain Adama or Colonel Tigh to Commander Tigh, so I elected to simply embrace the co-mingled nature of the original rank structure.
For our internal purposes, we've decided that the ranks are indeed a mixture of naval and army nomenclature and are basically as follows:
'''Officers:'''
* Admiral
* Commander
* Colonel
* Major
* Captain
* Lieutenant
* Lieutenant Junior Grade
* Ensign


'''Enlisted:'''
* Master Chief Petty Officer
* Chief Petty Officer
* Petty Officer (1st, 2nd Class)
* Specialist
* Deck Hand
* Recruit


Just to complicate matters further, there are also Marines aboard ''Galactica'' which conform more closely to the traditional enlisted Marine ranks, with Sergeants, Sergeant-Majors, etc. Unresolved is the question of whether the Marine officers would also adhere to the mixed rank structure (which sounds odd) or if they are strictly army equivalents (which makes no sense given that the "Navy" ranks seem oblivious to there being any such distinction). Aren't you glad you asked?
==Official Statements==
| source = <ref name="rdm_blog_ranks">{{cite web | url = http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/02/index.html#a000020 | title = RDM Blog: February 19, 2005 | author = Ronald D. Moore | publisher = Syfy | date = 2005-02-19 | accessdate = 2025-12-24 }}</ref>
*In a  [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/02/index.html#a000020 blog entry] on February 19, 2005 Ronald Moore gave a little insight into the rank structure of Battlestar Galactica:
}}
<blockquote>"What is the rank structure? It doesn't seem consistant with the Navy." <br>
'''
The rank structure is derived from the original series. I didn't want to change Commander Adama to Captain Adama or Colonel Tigh to Commander Tigh, so I elected to simply embrace the co-mingled nature of the original rank structure. For our internal purposes, we've decided that the ranks are indeed a mixture of naval and army nomenclature and are basically as follows:<br>
'''
Officers:
*Admiral
*Commander
*Colonel
*Major
*Captain
*Lieutenant
*Lieutenant (junior grade)
*Ensign
'''
Enlisted:
*Master Chief Petty Officer
*Chief Petty Officer
*Petty Officer (1st, 2nd Class)
*Specialist
*Deck Hand
*Recruit
'''
Just to complicate matters further, there are also Marines aboard ''Galactica'' which conform more closely to the traditional enlisted Marine ranks, with Sergeants, Sergeant-Majors (sic), etc. Unresolved is the question of whether the Marine officers would also adhere to the mixed rank structure (which sounds odd) or if they are strictly army equivalents (which makes no sense given that the "Navy" ranks seem oblivious to there being any such distinction). Aren't you glad you asked?</blockquote>


==See Also==
==See Also==
Line 237: Line 223:
==External Links==
==External Links==


{{archivelink|url=http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-2003---news/rank-insignia-and-symbolism-analysis-for-battlestar-galactica-2003-update.html|title=Rank Insignia and Symbolism Analysis for Battlestar Galactica 2003|live=No}} - A detailed analysis of ''Battlestar Galactica'''s uniform devices by Jim Stevenson, and also the source this article's artistic images.
[http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-2003---news/rank-insignia-and-symbolism-analysis-for-battlestar-galactica-2003-update.html A detailed analysis] of ''Battlestar Galactica'''s uniform devices by Jim Stevenson. Also the source for this article's images.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>


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