page_title: Bundeswehr
section_title: Ranks
hierarchical_section_title: Bundeswehr / Appearance / Ranks
context_page_description: The Bundeswehr is the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The states of Germany are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own, since the German Constitution states that matters of defense fall into the sole responsibility of the federal government. In other words, Germany does not have state-by-state National Guard branches, as is the case in the United States of America.
  The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part and a civil part with the armed forces administration. The military part of the federal defense force consists of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
  As of July 2020, the Bundeswehr has a strength of 185,198 active-duty military personnel and 79,821 civilians, placing it among the 30 largest military forces in the world and making it the second largest in the European Union behind France in terms of personnel. In addition the Bundeswehr has approximately 29,200 reserve personnel.
context_section_description: In general, officer ranks are those used in the Prussian and pre-1945 German armies. Officer rank insignia are worn on shoulder straps or shoulder boards. Army (Heer) and air force (Luftwaffe) junior officers' insignia are four pointed silver stars while field grade officers wear silver (black or white on camouflage uniforms) stars and an oak wreath around the lowest star. The stars and wreath are gold for general officers. In the case of naval (Marine) officers, rank is indicated by gold stripes on the lower sleeve of the blue service jacket and on shoulder boards of the white uniform.
  Soldier and NCO ranks are similar to those of the Prussian and pre-1945 German armies. In the army and air force, a Gefreiter corresponds to the NATO rank OR-2 and Obergefreiter as well as Hauptgefreiter to OR-3, while OR-4 stands for Stabsgefreiter and Oberstabsgefreiter. An Unteroffizier is the lowest-ranking sergeant (OR-5), followed by Stabsunteroffizier (also OR-5), Feldwebel and Oberfeldwebel (OR-6), Hauptfeldwebel (OR-7/8), Stabsfeldwebel (OR-8) and Oberstabsfeldwebel (OR-9). Ranks of army and air force enlisted personnel are designated by stripes, chevrons, and "sword knots" worn on rank slides. Naval enlisted rank designations are worn on the upper (OR 1–5) or lower (OR-6 and above) sleeve along with a symbol based on an anchor for the service specialization (rating). Army and air force officer candidates hold the separate ranks of Fahnenjunker (OR-5), Fähnrich (OR-6) and Oberfähnrich (OR-7/8), and wear the appropriate rank insignia plus a silver cord bound around it. Officers candidates in the navy Seekadett (sea cadet; equivalent to OR-5) and Fähnrich zur See (midshipman second class; OR-6) wear the rank insignia of the respective enlisted ranks but with a gold star instead of the rating symbol, while an Oberfähnrich zur See (midshipman first class; OR-7/8) wears an officer type thin rank stripe.
  Medical personnel of all three services wear a version of the traditional caduceus (staff with entwined serpents) on their shoulder straps or sleeve. The officers' ranks have own designations differing from the line officers, the rank insignias however are basically the same.
caption: Service uniform of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe)