text: in military terms, what are the general duties of the "colonel?"?   it depends on which branch of the military and what their job is...as far as where they are stationed.  for example...my husband is a marine on an air station. that means this military installation is made up of various units that work on aircraft and pilots, etc...everything to do with the air units. the colonels here are basically the head guys, like the ceo of this individual company, to put it into civilian terms. basically, they have to be involved in everything.  they have to be sure people are doing their jobs, money is being spent properly, various committees are doing what they are meant to do...  basically, what i've learned, is that the military is set up like a business.  the higher you go the more paperwork and people managing you have to do. you manage less people directly, but more people indirectly. a colonel is pretty high up, so they are in charge of many people, but directly order a few people lower than them.  i hope this helped! take care.