Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander (
Lieutenant-Commander in
British English) is a
commissioned officer rank in many
navies superior to a
Lieutenant and subordinate to a
Commander. The corresponding rank in most
armies,
marine corps and
air forces is
Major, and in the
Royal Air Force and other
Commonwealth air forces is
Squadron Leader.
A Lieutenant Commander is a senior
department officer on a large
ship or shore installation. They may also be
commanding officer or
executive officer (
second-in-command) of a smaller ship or installation.
Unlike similarly-named military ranks (e.g.
Lieutenant Colonel,
Lieutenant General), the "lieutenant" in the title does not indicate a deputy or junior grade of Commander, but a senior grade of Lieutenant. Lieutenants were commonly put in command of smaller vessels not warranting a Commander or
Captain: such a Lieutenant was called a "Lieutenant Commanding" or "Lieutenant Commandant" in the
United States Navy, and a "Lieutenant in Command" or "Lieutenant and Commander" in the
Royal Navy. The USN settled on "Lieutenant Commander" in 1862, and made it a distinct rank; the RN belatedly followed suit in March 1914.
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A Lieutenant-Commander's sleeve/shoulder insignia |
The insignia worn by a
Royal Navy Lieutenant-Commander (
Lt Cdr) is two medium
gold braid stripes with one thin gold stripe running in between, placed upon a navy blue/black background. The top stripe has the ubiquitous loop used in all RN officer rank insignia. The RAF follows this pattern with its equivalent rank of Squadron Leader.
Having fewer officer ranks than the army, the RN previously split some of its ranks by seniority (time in rank) to provide equivalence: hence a Lieutenant with fewer than eight years' seniority wore two stripes, and ranked with an army Captain; a Lieutenant of eight years or more wore two stripes with a thinner one in between, and ranked with a Major. This distinction was abolished when the rank of Lieutenant-Commander was introduced, the new rank taking the insignia and army equivalence of a senior Lieutenant.
Similar insignia is worn by Lieutenant-Commanders in other
Commonwealth navies, such as the
Royal Australian Navy (which uses the abbreviation "LCDR"), the
Royal New Zealand Navy and the
Canadian Forces Maritime Command (formerly the
Royal Canadian Navy; which uses the abbreviation "LCdr").
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Insignia of a United States Navy Lieutenant Commander |
The rank of
Lieutenant Commander (
LCDR) is used in the
United States Navy and
United States Coast Guard. The pay grade of this rank is O-4.
While the gold oak leaf collar insignia worn by
United States Air Force,
Army, and
Marine Corps Majors are also worn by USN Lieutenant Commanders, they also wear on various uniforms the two medium and one narrow sleeve and shoulder braid stripe insignia like their counterparts in the Royal Navy, though with a specialty insignia instead of a loop. In this illustration, the inverted star of a
line officer is used.
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Military unit*
Comparative Military Ranks*
U.S. Navy Officer Rank Insignia
