General-Major's Coat

[vikingraider1]

Dave,
Again I must disagree here. Take for example German WWII ranks, it took me long enough to learn all the ranks (both Wehrmact and Waffen SS) and never once did I use a British term of rank to equate a German officer. I simply do not see why anyone would substitute another countries ranking system for one they are familiar with. I suppose it depends how serious you want to study your chosen field.
The fact that "stars" are used by a certain country should not make one denote a general officer as either a one star or two star general. There is no comparison as the ranking system of American and Soviet Generals and Marshals is well....different. For example does the American ranking system have a rank of Marshal of a Branch of Arm or Marshal of America? Another example is a Marshal only has one large star on his shoulder boards....You could not call a Marshal a "one star general" as this is quite obviously wrong (even if there is one star on his shoulder boards). So as you see everything is not as clear cut as you would imagine.

[Dave]

Originally posted by vikingraider1
I simply do not see why anyone would substitute another countries ranking system for one they are familiar with.

I agree that one SHOULD know the ranking system of the country they are talking about, but, a lot of people don't... And what's more, they could give a rat's a-- about the ranking system of another nation. Sorry to be trite about it, but having interacted with the navies of over a dozen nations in both Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the thing that other military members want to know is: "What is that guy's rank?" and most importantly: "How does it equate to mine?"

When dealing with other countries that used the star ranking system for officers (Egypt, for instance) I was quite proud of myself when I convinced my fellow officers that the young guy with the three stars on his shoulder was NOT an admiral but another officer of similar rank to ourselves... What his actual transliterated rank was I don't know, but hey, we could figure it out so as not to have a breach of protocol.

What I'm saying is this: If a "non-collector", "non-historian" calls a "Captain 2nd Rank" of the Russian navy a "Commander", don't get stressed about it! If that's what works for them, fine. On the same token, if someone on this board calls a "Captain 2nd Rank" a "Commander", then you have full right to go and politely correct them, and I'll cheer you on. :D

--Dave

[vikingraider1]

Point taken Dave and of course you are absoloutly right in some aspects.
My point was basically "just 'cos he has two stars on his shoulder boards does not make him a two star general".
Sorry to sounds petty but it is just one of my pet hates....:D

[skipper1939]

I have posted a number of messages on this and when I try to submit reply them they seem to disappear. Can Anyone help?

Dr. Bob