# Can someone explain the archetypes of military rank? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692 "2004-08-20T07:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/21 "2004-08-20T18:26:32Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > Yeah, I was wondering this the other day. > > We’ve got our pronounciation differences either side of the Atlantic, obviously, but this one is beyond all the others. > > Crazy yanks pronouncing the word how it’s spelt. Whatever next… If you want a real laugh, show any random American the word “Worchestershire” and ask them to read it to you… ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/22 "2004-08-20T18:27:14Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > Oh, also: technically, the United States Army has a **6** star General. Public Law 94-474, passed in 1976, stated that there would be created the grade “General of the Armies of the United States”, which would be superior to all other grades of the Armed Forces, past and present. The appointee to this position? George Washington, posthumously. Thus, no matter what new ranks the U.S. Armed Forces come up with, Washington will always outrank them. \ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/23 "2004-08-20T18:35:34Z")
[QUOTE=John Corrado] . When Lincoln decided to give Grant full command of the Union Armies, Grant was made the first Lieutenant General since George Washington. (see [http://www.swcivilwar.com/grant.html](http://www.swcivilwar.com/grant.html)) [QUOTE] One possible reason is that the South had already reinstalled the rank - Lee, Stuart and Longstreet were already Lieutenant Generals. ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/24 "2004-08-20T18:41:21Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > I was wondering about the pronounciation of **Lieutenant** , btw. > > And it’s ah-loo-min-yum. There’s no ‘yummy’ in there. Well, there isn’t in the way I say it. Which is the right way. Obviously. Where did I get ‘yummy’ from? I of course mean ‘minny’. > [@Kilt-wearin' man](#): > > If you want a real laugh, show any random American the word “Worchestershire” and ask them to read it to you… I’ve never gotten the idea behind the pronounciation of this. I’m not sure you’ve got the spelling right of that though, I may be wrong but I dont think that first ‘h’ is supposed to be there… _runs off to check_ ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/25 "2004-08-20T19:04:21Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > Where did I get ‘yummy’ from? I of course mean ‘minny’. > > I’ve never gotten the idea behind the pronounciation of this. I’m not sure you’ve got the spelling right of that though, I may be wrong but I dont think that first ‘h’ is supposed to be there… > > _runs off to check_ I could easily be mis-spelling it…it’s not a word that comes up in everyday usage… As for the Lieutenant/LEF-tenant thing - I’ve never understood where the British “F” comes from in the word, but it’s consistent. Americans just pronounce it like it’s spelled. Dunno about Canadians. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/26 "2004-08-20T19:16:56Z")
> [@MMI](#): > > Some navies (France, Germany [http://pro.wanadoo.fr/pierre.gay/EngPages/ArmForce](http://pro.wanadoo.fr/pierre.gay/EngPages/ArmForce) ) have as the ranks under a full ships Captain ranks that seem to indicate command of smaller vessels. In the USN a Captain holds a major command. A Commander or Lieutenant Commander or even Lieutenant could be “Captain” of a smaller vessel. > > 1. Capitaine de vaisseau > (GB/US): Captain > (D): Kapitän zur See > > 2. Capitaine de frégate > (GB/US): Commander > (D): Fregattenkapitän > > 3. Capitaine de Corvette > (GB/US): Lieutenant-Commander > (D): Korvettenkapitän From various sources, mostly fictional but presumably still trying for situational realism, I gather that commanders and lieutenant commanders who command these smaller vessels are called “Captain” where the vessel is concerned. For instance, you might hear someone say, “This is Lieut. Commander Queeg, captain of the _Caine_.” The officers and crew under him will address him as captain, but when he gets hauled on the carpet for cutting his towline, he gets called Lieutentant Commander Queeg (and probably a lot of other things). Here’s a question for Navy people. Could it ever happen that an NCO gets command of a vessel? In _The Caine Mutiny_ there’s a “grizzled Chief” commanding a harbor tug. Would his crew call him Captain, even though he’s not a commissioned officer? ---
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/27 "2004-08-20T19:48:27Z")
> [@Kilt-wearin' man](#): > > I could easily be mis-spelling it…it’s not a word that comes up in everyday usage… > > As for the Lieutenant/LEF-tenant thing - I’ve never understood where the British “F” comes from in the word, but it’s consistent. Americans just pronounce it like it’s spelled. Dunno about Canadians. Yeah, it’s a mis-spelling, but I’ll forgive you. Just this once though. Well, it’s not an everyday word. Except maybe if you eat a lot of cheese on toast. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/28 "2004-08-20T19:54:56Z")
> [@Pretend My Name Is Witty](#): > > Yeah, it’s a mis-spelling, but I’ll forgive you. Just this once though. > > Well, it’s not an everyday word. Except maybe if you eat a lot of cheese on toast. The sauce by that name makes an excellent marinade for seasoning beef. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/29 "2004-08-20T20:09:23Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Here’s a question for Navy people. Could it ever happen that an NCO gets command of a vessel? In _The Caine Mutiny_ there’s a “grizzled Chief” commanding a harbor tug. Would his crew call him Captain, even though he’s not a commissioned officer? Not only could, but often does. Nothing as big as a warship, but smaller vessels. Happened a lot in Viet Nam on the smaller river boats. (Remember, just off the top of my head, Martin Sheen’s trip up the river in _Apocalypse Now_?) I served with a Master Chief when I was a little squidling in the ‘80s who wore a command pin he got in Viet Nam. And there are enlisted folk commanding smaller boats up the road at the Amphib base riht this very minute. Do people call them "Captain’? That I don’t know, but I imagine “skipper” is used more often by their crew. If you need a reference, give me a little time. ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692/30 "2004-08-20T21:31:49Z")
Hi Everyone!! An excellent source to look up information on military ranks is a website called Rank Insignia of the World. To see it, please go to: www.rankinsignia.info You should check out their FORUM section for all sorts of information!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-the-archetypes-of-military-rank/260692.md?page=1)