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Military of Brazil
Coat of arms of Brazil

Components
Army
Air Force
Navy
Military Police
Ranks
Military ranks of Brazil
History
Military history of Brazil

This article presents the insignia and ranks of the Brazilian military. These ranks originate from those adopted upon Brazil's independence from Portugal in 1822. Nowadays they are defined by Act no. 6880 of December 9, 1980.[1] The following ranks show Brazil's military insignia and its corresponding NATO codes.

Air Force ranks date from 1941, when the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira) was organized as a merger of the Navy's Aeronaval Force and the Army's Aviation Service.[2]

Rank table[]

The shoulder epaulette pads from Navy and Air Force indicate both rank and specialty branch. The air force examples below are shown without branch designation marks on the epaulettes, with the exception of the ranks of Air Lieutenant-Brigadier and Air Marshall, which can only be occupied by pilots. Army shoulder pads do not represent branch, as this is indicated elsewhere in the uniform like on the cuff and sleeves of the dress and everyday uniforms.

Officers[]

All officer ranks differ per service as shown in the colors used in the epaulette pads. The Navy also uses cuff rank insignia like most navies everywhere. The Brazilian Marine Corps, as part of the Navy, uses naval ranks save for its basic enlisted ranks, thus Seamen and Seamen Recruits are called as Privates (Soldado FN) and Recruits (Recruta FN) respectively.

Brazilian Navy Brazilian Army Brazilian Air Force Brazilian Military Police
and Military Firefighters
General Officers and Flag Officers
Almirante MB
Admiral
(Almirante)
OF-10[3]
Marechal
Marshal
(Marechal)
OF-10[3]
Marechal ar
Marshal of the Air
(Marechal-do-ar)
OF-10[3]
(No equivalent)
Almirante de Esquadra MB
Fleet admiral
(Almirante-de-esquadra)
OF-9
General do Exército
Army General
(General-de-exército)
OF-9
Tenente brigadeiro
Air Lieutenant Brigadier
(Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar)
OF-9
(No direct rank equivalent;
equates to some senior
appointments of Colonel)
Vice-Almirante MB
Vice Admiral
(Vice-almirante)
OF-7
Insígnia de General de Divisão
Divisional General
(General-de-divisão)
OF-7
Major brigadeiro
Brigadier Major
(Major-Brigadeiro)
OF-7
(No direct rank equivalent;
equates to some senior
appointments of Colonel)
Contra-Almirante MB
Rear Admiral
(Contra-almirante)
OF-6
Insígnia de General de Brigada
Brigade General
(General-de-brigada)
OF-6
Brigadeiro
Brigadier
(Brigadeiro)
OF-6
(No direct rank equivalent;
equates to some senior
appointments of Colonel)
Senior Officers
Capitão de Mar e Guerra MB
Captain of Sea and War
(Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra)
OF-5
Coronel
Colonel
(Coronel)
OF-5
Coronel fab
Colonel
(Coronel)
OF-5
Insignia PM O1
Colonel
(Coronel)
OF-5
Capitão de Fragata MB
Frigate Captain
(Capitão-de-fragata)
OF-4
Tenente-Coronel
Lieutenant Colonel
(Tenente-coronel)
OF-4
Tenente coronel fab
Lieutenant Colonel
(Tenente-coronel)
OF-4
Insignia PM O2
Lieutenant Colonel
(Tenente-coronel)
OF-4
Capitão de corveta MB
Corvette Captain
(Capitão-de-corveta)
OF-3
Major Exército
Major
(Major)
OF-3
Major fab
Major
(Major)
OF-3
Insignia PM O3
Major
(Major)
OF-3
Intermediary Officers
Capitão-Tenente MB
Captain Lieutenant
(Capitão-tenente)
OF-2
Capitão
Captain
(Capitão)
OF-2
Capitao fab
Captain
(Capitão)
OF-2
Insignia PM O4
Captain
(Capitão)
OF-2
Subaltern Officers
Primeiro-Tenente MB
First Lieutenant
(Primeiro-tenente)
OF-1
Primeiro-Tenente
First Lieutenant
(Primeiro-tenente)
OF-1
1tenente fab
First Lieutenant
(Primeiro-tenente)
OF-1
Insignia PM O5
First Lieutenant
(Primeiro-tenente)
OF-1
Segundo-Tenente MB
Second Lieutenant
(Segundo-tenente)
OF-1
Segundo-Tenente
Second Lieutenant
(Segundo-tenente)
OF-1
2tenente fab
Second Lieutenant
(Segundo-tenente)
OF-1
Insignia PM O6
Second Lieutenant
(Segundo-tenente)
OF-1
Special non-commissioned officers[4]
Guarda-Marinha MB
Midshipman
(Guarda-marinha)
OF-D
Aspirante
Aspirant Officer
(Aspirante-a-oficial)
OF-D
Aspirante fab
Aspirant
(Aspirante)
OF-D
Insignia PM O7
Aspirant Officer
(Aspirante-a-oficial)
OF-D
Non-commissioned ranks
Suboficial MB
Warrant Officer/Sub-officer
(Suboficial)
Subtenente
Warrant Officer/Sublieutenant
(Subtenente)
Suboficial fab
Warrant Officer/Sub-officer
(Suboficial)
Insignia PM O8
Warrant Officer/Sublieutenant
(Subtenente)

Enlisted[]

Enlisted rank and rate insignia are on the sleeves of all uniforms.

Brazilian Army

First
Sergeant
(primeiro-sargento)
Second
Sergeant
(segundo-sargento)
Third
Sergeant
(terceiro-sargento)
Corporal (cabo) Private (soldado)
Primeiro-Sargento.
Segundo-Sargento
Terceiro-Sargento
Cabo
Soldado

Brazilian Navy

First
Sergeant
(primeiro-sargento)
Second
Sergeant
(segundo-sargento')
Third
Sergeant
(terceiro-sargento)
Leading Seaman/Corporal (cabo) Seaman (marinheiro),
Private/Marine (Soldado FN) (Marines)
Primeiro-Sargento MB
Segundo-Sargento MB
Terceiro-Sargento MB
Cabo MB
Marinheiro MB

Brazilian Air Force

First
Sergeant
(primeiro-sargento)
Second
Sergeant
(segundo-sargento)
Third
Sergeant
(terceiro-sargento)
Corporal (cabo) Airman (soldado)
Praça 1Sgt FAB
Praça 2Sgt FAB
Praça 3Sgt FAB
Praça Cb FAB
Praça Sd FAB

Brazilian Military Police

First Sergeant
(Primeiro Sargento)
Second Sergeant
(Segundo Sargento)
Third Sergeant
(Terceiro Sargento)
Corporal
(Cabo)
Private
(Soldado)
Insignia PM P1
Insignia PM P2
Insignia PM P3
Insignia PM P5

Insignia PM P6

Notes[]

  1. Act no. 6880 of December 9, 1980.
  2. Instituto Histórico e Cultural da Aeronáutica, História geral da aeronáutica brasileira, v. 3
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wartime use only
  4. As treated by Act 6880/1980, the "special non-commissioned officers" listed here are non-commissioned officers that are on their way to become full-fledged commissioned officers. As such, in most instances they are treated the same as subaltern officers and take on basically the same tasks. As a rule, however, special non-commissioned officers do not take on command jobs.

See also[]

External links[]


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Military ranks of Brazil and the edit history here.
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