'''''' is both a specific
military rank as well as a generic term for any
non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the army and air force, while in the navy the term is used. It has existed since the 17th century. Rated OR-5 within the
NATO ranking system, it is equal to UK/US rank of
Sergeant. Until the end of
German Reich, the equivalent of
Unteroffizier rank in
Jäger units was
Oberjäger. ;There are two classes of non-commissioned officers: •
Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee, comprising: •
Unteroffizier and
Fahnenjunker (
Maat ⇒ see main article
German Navy) •
Stabsunteroffizier (
Obermaat) •
Unteroffiziere mit Portepee, comprising: •
Feldwebel and
Fähnrich (
Bootsmann) •
Oberfeldwebel (
Oberbootsmann) •
Hauptfeldwebel and
Oberfähnrich (
Hauptbootsmann) •
Stabsfeldwebel (
Stabsbootsmann) •
Oberstabsfeldwebel (
Oberstabsbootsmann) Informally, the non-commissioned officers "
mit Portepee" are often called "
Feldwebel ranks", which creates confusion as the collective term
Unteroffizier already exists. The word
Unteroffizier, in turn, is getting a third meaning, namely: non-commissioned officer
ohne Portepee, as opposed to "
Feldwebel ranks".
Unteroffizier translates as "subordinate-officer" and, when meaning the specific rank, is in modern-day usage considered the equivalent to
sergeant under the NATO rank scale. Historically the
Unteroffizier rank was considered a corporal and thus similar in duties to a British Army corporal. In peacetime an
Unteroffizier was a career soldier who trained conscripts or led squads and platoons. He could rise through the ranks to become an
Unteroffizier mit Portepee, i.e. a
Feldwebel, which was the highest rank a career soldier could reach. Since the German officer corps was immensely class conscious a rise through the ranks from a NCO to become an officer was hardly possible except in times of war. The
Unteroffizierskorps was made up of professional soldiers which formed the backbone of German armies. This tradition has not been changed by the
Bundeswehr where all ranks of
Unteroffizier and up consist only of professional soldiers who sign up for a period extending conscription.
Unteroffizier is one of the few German military ranks whose insignia has remained unchanged over the past one hundred years. The shoulder boards of a modern
Unteroffizier are relatively similar to the
World War I and
World War II designs. A modern-day German
Bundeswehr Unteroffizier typically commands
squad sized formations or acts as an assistant
platoon NCO. The rank is also used in the modern-day
German Air Force. In the
Bundeswehr the grade of
Stabsunteroffizier (a junior NCO) ranks between
Unteroffizier and
Feldwebel.
Nazi Germany ; There sequence of grades in Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine was as follows: •
Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee, comprising: •
Unteroffizier (
Maat ⇒ see main article
Kriegsmarine Rank insignia) •
Unterfeldwebel (
Obermaat) •
Unteroffiziere mit Portepee, comprising: •
Feldwebel (
Bootsmann) • Heer & Luftwaffe no grade (Stabsbootsmann) •
Oberfeldwebel (
Oberbootsmann) •
Stabsfeldwebel (
Stabsoberbootsmann) ;Rank insignia Unteroffizier Wehrmacht and equivalent grades Waffen-SS:
East Germany By the
East German National People's Army (NP's A) and the
Border troops the grade was introduced in 1956. The rank insignia remained almost identically to these
Wehrmacht and
Reichswehr. There designation of the two classes of non-commissioned officers, i.e. "Unteroffiziere ohne Portepee" and "Unteroffiziere mit Portepee", was generally disapproved by the East German communist military leadership, and consequently uncustomary. There sequence of grades was as follows: •
Unteroffizier (
Maat ⇒ see main article
Volksmarine) •
Unterfeldwebel (Obermaat) •
Feldwebel (
Meister) •
Oberfeldwebel (
Obermeister) •
Stabsfeldwebel (
Stabsobermeister) ;Rank insignia: ==Russia==