Sergeant major


Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world.

History

In 16th century Spain, the sargento mayor was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the army's command structure; he also acted as a sort of chief of staff to the army's commander.
In the 17th century, sergeants major appeared in individual regiments. These were field officers, third in command of their regiments, with a role similar to the older, army-level sergeant major. The older position became known as "sergeant major general" to distinguish it. Over time, the term "sergeant" was dropped from both titles, giving rise to the modern ranks of major and major general.
The full title of sergeant major fell out of use until the latter part of the 18th century, when it began to be applied to the senior non-commissioned officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment. At about this time, the U.S. and British histories of the title diverge, with the American Revolutionary War.

Commonwealth of Nations forces

Sergeant major is now generally an appointment rather than a rank. The appointment is normally held by the senior warrant officer of an army or marine unit. These appointments are made at several levels: for example, the senior warrant officer of a company, battery or squadron, or the senior warrant officer of a battalion or regiment. A sergeant major of a regiment or battalion is known as a regimental sergeant major, rather than a "regiment sergeant major" or "battalion sergeant major".
The sergeant major of a unit is responsible to the commanding officer for advising them on matters relating to non-commissioned members of that unit. Sergeant majors are normally addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" by subordinates, and as "sergeant major", by their full title, or as "Mr" or "Ms" , by superiors.
In the British Armed Forces, the plural is sergeant majors and not sergeants major as it is in the United States.

Australia

The most senior warrant officer in the Australian Army holds the unique rank of warrant officer and the appointment of Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army. The RSM-A is responsible to the Chief of Army, but responsive to all ranks across the Army. The RSM-A is a member of the personal staff of the Chief of Army. The post of RSM-A has existed since January 1983 and was held by a WO1 until 1991. The RSM-A is the equivalent of the Royal Australian Navy's Warrant Officer of the Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force's Warrant Officer of the Air Force.
The RSM-A's primary role is to represent to the Chief of Army and others, the solicited and unsolicited views, concerns and opinions of soldiers in the army, but also carry the Chief of Army's message down and across the ranks.

Canada

Canadian Armed Forces

The appointment of sergeant major is given to the senior non-commissioned member within sub-units, units and some formations of the Canadian Army. The regimental sergeant-major is the senior sergeant major in a unit, such as armoured, artillery, engineer, and signal regiments, and infantry and service battalions. This appointment is normally held by a chief warrant officer.
Within sub-units the sub-unit sergeant-major generally holds the rank of master warrant officer and is known as a squadron, company or, battery sergeant major. They are addressed as "Sergeant-Major", "Mr", or "Ms" by officers and "Sir" or "Ma'am" by subordinates with the same conventions used for regimental sergeant majors.
In some unusual cases, a chief petty officer 1st class or chief petty officer 2nd class in the Royal Canadian Navy may succeed to a sergeant major's position, especially in units with a large number of "purple trades", such as service battalions. The forms of address generally remain the same, except that chief petty officers 1st and 2nd class are never addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am", but as "Chief". Sergeant majors do not form part of the formation, unit, or sub-unit chain of command, as their role is to advise their commander on matters pertaining to the organization's non-commissioned members.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Sergeant major is a rank in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While technically it is the sixth level of rank, below corps sergeant major and above staff sergeant major, it, along with the other two, is a specialized rank and not part of the normal progression, which proceeds from staff sergeant to inspector.

Singapore

A sergeant major appointment exists in each military unit from company to division/formation. Their main job is to assist the commander in the discipline and welfare of the enlisted men. Their authority and responsibility at parades and ceremonies extends over even commissioned officers while on the parade square. In the Singapore Armed Forces, two kinds of sergeant major exist, a regimental sergeant major and a company sergeant major. A regimental sergeant major may be placed in charge of a battalion, brigade, division or service level. A regimental sergeant major could also be appointed as RSM for a vocation, i.e. infantry vocation/formation sergeant major. This appointment is usually held by a senior warrant officer or a master warrant officer, although at times a 1st warrant officer may be appointed. A company sergeant major may be a 1WO, 2WO and 3WO. Sometimes, a master sergeant or a staff sergeant may be appointed. Military Experts of rank ME 3 could also be sergeant majors, in-charge of logistical units or naval units. This practice is also mirrored in the National Cadet Corps with the master sergeant or staff sergeant being appointed as unit sergeant major. In schools with more than one NCC unit, i.e. having a land as well as a sea unit, an RSM might be appointed from either unit.

Sri Lanka

The rank or appointment of sergeant major exists in the Sri Lanka Army and Sri Lanka Police Service. In the army, a warrant officer 2nd class is known as a sergeant major; while a warrant officer 1st class is a regimental sergeant major. In the police, the most senior non-gazetted officer rank is police sergeant major.

South Africa

As described above, sergeant-major is not a rank, but an appointment held by a warrant officer class 1 or warrant officer class 2. Regardless of the appointment, the warrant officer is addressed as "sergeant-major".
The rank was established in the Union Defence Forces in 1913, in a single class. The rank badge was a crown, senior appointments being indicated by a wreath around the badge.
The rank was divided into two classes in 1921. The national coat of arms was assigned as the badge of the 1st class, and the crown was assigned to the 2nd class. In both classes, senior appointments were indicated by a wreath around the badge.
From 1957 to 2002, all warrant officers 1st class wore the wreathed coat of arms, and the warrant officer 2nd class wore the plain coat of arms. Since 2002, all warrant officers have worn the new national coat of arms, the classes and appointments being indicated by the shape of the surrounding frame, and the addition of stars and crossed swords above the arms.
Up until 1 June 2008, the highest appointment, that was held by a warrant officer class 1 was the Sergeant-Major of the South African National Defence Force.
Other senior warrant officer appointments up until 1 June 2008 were:
  • Level 2: Sergeant-Major of the Army
  • Level 3: Formation sergeant-major
  • Level 4: Group or base sergeant-major or regimental sergeant-major
The South African Air Force had a similar structure for its warrant officers who are also addressed as "sergeant-major".
Starting 1 June 2008, the warrant ranks are:
A company/squadron/battery sergeant major should ordinarily be a WO2.

United Kingdom

In the British Army and Royal Marines, company/battery/squadron sergeant major is an appointment for a WO2 and regimental sergeant major is a WO1 appointment.
Due to differences in nomenclature between Regiments and Corps, sergeant majors' titles do vary; squadron sergeant major and battery sergeant major for instance would be found in the cavalry and Royal Artillery respectively, and in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, there are the appointments of artificer sergeant major.
Sergeant major instructor is an appointment held by warrant officers class 1 in the Small Arms School Corps and the Army Physical Training Corps and by some WO1s in the Royal Engineers. It is also an appointment held by some of the civilian adult instructors in the Army Cadet Force.
A machinist sergeant-major is a specialist most often found in the Corps of Royal Engineers or the Royal Army Service Corps, and was the title of one of the major characters in the book and the film based on it, Ice Cold in Alex.
For the use of "sergeant major" as a form of address, see the articles on regimental and company sergeant majors, and that on staff sergeants.
The posts of regimental and squadron corporal major are the Household Cavalry's equivalent of sergeant majors, as the Household Cavalry traditionally does not have ranks named sergeant. The Rifles use the spelling serjeant major, in common with the spelling used for serjeant and colour serjeant.
A new post of Army Sergeant Major was created in 2015.

History

The first British use of the term was around 1680 and was applied to the senior sergeant in the colonel's company of an infantry regiment, but it wasn't formalised until 1797, when the sergeant major was added to the battalion or regimental staff. When chevrons were introduced as badges of rank, he wore four, later under a crown.
In 1813, cavalry regiments introduced the troop sergeant major to replace the quartermaster as the senior NCO of a troop; this required the existing position to be explicitly redesignated the regimental sergeant major. Later, the rise of the squadron as the principal sub-regimental unit saw the corresponding introduction of the squadron sergeant major. The infantry, however, hung on to the undifferentiated, one-per-battalion sergeant major until the eve of the First World War, when the introduction of the company sergeant major forced them to adopt the RSM title as well.
In 1881, the cavalry RSM and infantry sergeant major were among a number of senior non-commissioned positions that were confirmed with warrants, making them warrant officers. This was extended and rationalised in 1915, with the introduction of the new ranks of warrant officer class I and warrant officer class II. RSM became an appointment of the former, CSM and SSM of the latter.
The Royal Marines continued to use a single rank of sergeant major, equating to warrant officer class I, until after the Second World War, when they adopted the Army system.
The Royal Flying Corps and its successor the Royal Air Force used the ranks of sergeant-major 1st and 2nd class instead of warrant officer class I and II until the 1930s, when the RAF adopted the Army-style ranks. The RAF has not used sergeant major as either a rank or an appointment since that time.