Seing as this has wandered off-topic slightly, can I show my ignorance and ask "what is a ‘Bird Colonel?’ I really haven’t a clue (goddam Limey!)
It’s just a slang term for a colonel. In the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marines, the rank insignia for a colonel is an eagle (a “bird”). The next lower rank is lieutenant colonel. To distinguish a colonel from a lieutenant colonel, a colonel is sometimes referred to as a “full colonel,” a “bird colonel,” or a “full bird colonel.”
The size of the insignia may be different; howver, the form & color of same do not vary among the Services. A fun thing to know is that the Commissioned Corps of the PHS uses Navy rank abbreviations but not the Navy rank names for their ranks.
A “bird Colonel” is one who wears the Eagle insignia. That’s why (s)he’s also called a "Full Colone"l or a “Full Bird Colonel” as opposed to a Liuetenant Colonel who is sometimes called a “Telephone Colonel.”
What is the PHS and what rank names do they use then?
I’d not heard that one, but another term is “Light Colonel”. Other odd terms are the “Bull Ensign” or “Bull Lieutenant”, who is the senior Ensign/2ndLt in a command, and can wear a larger bar with the text “BULL” enscribed on it. The other bar may or may not have “SHIT” on it. This is not official, to my knowledge, but is/was practice in the Navy and Marines.
Thanks guys, enlightenment at last, I’ve wondered about this for years.
UncleBill: don’t forget the George!
Great. Thanks for suggesting the link.
Former USN checking in, attached to a USMC command.
He’s still captain. No one confuses him with the skipper. It’s just a title.
I had a dog named King once. Good dog. Called him King. Never thought he was monarch potential.
I’ll bet HE thought so, though.
stockton: I suggested the link because that’s where BUPERS puts their online information–oddly enough on their webpage.
Plus, I bet your dog is a heck of a lot better monarch material than more than a couple of actual monarchs!